South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong Sub apologized for the army’s failure to shoot down five North Korean drones that violated South Korean airspace on Monday.
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“I would like to say that I apologize to the citizens for the result of the operation carried out in response to the provocation of North Korean drones,” the minister said during a meeting of the national defense committee in parliament.
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Lee Jong Sub also dismissed media speculation that one in five North Korean drones could have reached Seoul’s central Yongsan district, where the president’s office and defense ministry are located. The Minister assured that the drone could not fly to this area and the military can confirm this according to tracking devices.
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It was previously reported that five North Korean drones invaded South Korea on Monday morning. According to the military, these were small-scale drones with a wingspan of two meters. Seoul responded by launching fighter jets, helicopters and other means to destroy drones. The South Korean military carried out the operation for five hours, from helicopters they fired about 100 shots from 20-mm cannons at the drones, but could not shoot down the drones, which partially returned to North Korea, partially disappeared from the radar.
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Four out of five North Korean drones entered South Korea from the western side of Ganghwa Island and remained in the same area. The South Korean military suggests that they were needed to divert attention. After that, they disappeared from the radar of the military and did not appear again. Another fifth drone crossed the border in the area between Gimpo and Paju and descended to the northern border of the Seoul metropolitan area, after which it returned to the DPRK.
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According to some media in South Korea, he could even go down to the central district of Seoul Yongsan, where the country’s new presidential administration is located.
Seoul responded by sending manned and unmanned reconnaissance vehicles and equipment to adjacent areas of North Korea north of the military demarcation line, where they also filmed the main military infrastructure of the DPRK.
