South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reportedly reprimanded his defense minister, Lee Jong Sup, over North Korea’s drone incursion into South Korean territory after the country’s military initially failed to shoot them down.
The North Korean drones flew across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas and one of them flew over the northern parts of Seoul, Yonhap news agency reported.
«How can there be no one preparing against drone strikes from North Korea? There were many similar incidents in the past, so what have you been doing until now?», Yoon spat against Lee during a meeting on Tuesday, a government official has detailed to the cited agency.
«Are you saying there was no proper training and you did nothing?» the South Korean president added during the meeting.
Yoon’s remarks came during a meeting convened to discuss security conditions with other national security officials, including national security adviser Kim Sung Han.
Later, the South Korean head of state presided over an executive meeting as scheduled, where he called for a breakthrough in the establishment of a drone unit. He also promised to strengthen the country’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities by introducing state-of-the-art stealth drones.
According to reports reported by Yonhap, South Korean forces in response sent drones to the border area, some of which have entered North Korean territory to conduct surveillance operations, including photography of «key enemy military facilities.»
The event is the first of its kind since 2017, although between 2014 and 2017 Seoul denounced numerous drone overflight operations by North Korea and already warned of the military threat posed by these devices, both to perpetrate attacks and in espionage operations.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula following Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile firings, including two short-range ones launched during the day on Friday.
U.S. and South Korean officials agreed last week to conduct «realistic» joint military exercises, especially in the face of missile or nuclear attack scenarios by North Korea. The South Korean Defense Ministry stressed that the parties also plan to expand their joint exercises next year following a meeting between senior defense officials from both countries.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
