This June 21, 2017 file photo shows a North Korean unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) displayed in a briefing room at the Ministry of National Defense. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday it detected multiple North Korean UAVs flying across the inter-Korean border, and the military was engaged in an operation to shoot them down. Yonhap

South Korean military says 1 UAV reached Seoul

By Nam Hyun-woo

North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) trespassed into South Korea's airspace on Monday, but the South's military failed to shoot down one of them that reached Seoul, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

According to the JCS, the military detected multiple "unidentified objects," presumed to be UAVs, in the airspace above Gyeonggi Province from 10:25 a.m.

The JCS later said five UAVs flew across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating the two Koreas. One of them reached the northern part of Seoul and four others flew near Ganghwa Island on the West Sea. Reportedly, the military assumes that the four UAVs flew over Ganghwa Island in order to distract the South.

The UAV reached the northern part of Seoul and flew across the MDL again to return to the North, a JCS official said. The others disappeared from South Korean radars.

The military said the UAV that reached Seoul was a glider type with a wingspan of approximately 2 meters.

The South Korean military sent fighters, attack helicopters and other warplanes to shoot down the UAV, but failed.

"Our aircraft went close to the UAV and obtained a visual identification," the JCS official said, without specifying which UAV he was referring to. "However, we could not shoot it down because of possible collateral damage as it was flying over a civilian area."

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Instead, the JCS said a helicopter fired around 100 20-millimeter rounds to destroy the UAVs near Gyodong Island in the West Sea, which is uninhabited. But it was reported that the helicopter was not aiming at a specific target, and fired in the direction where they were presumed to be flying.

The military also deployed a KA-1 light attack aircraft to assist in the operation to intercept the UAV that reached Seoul. But the plane crashed in Hoengseong County at 11:39 a.m. due to an unknown reason. The two pilots aboard the KA-1 escaped safely.

The military also said it deployed manned and unmanned reconnaissance assets near the MDL as part of its countermeasure.

Due to the UAVs' flight, civilian flights at Gimpo and Incheon international airports were suspended for 44 minutes.

Firefighters pour water onto the site of a South Korean military plane that crashed in Hoengseong County, about 140 kilometers east of Seoul in this photo released by the county's fire service, Dec. 26. Yonhap

This is the first time since June 9, 2017 that North Korean UAVs flew across the inter-Korean border. At that time, the UAV was found in Gangwon Province where it crashed while returning to the North after taking photos of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

In 2014, multiple North Korean UAVs were found near the inter-Korean border. In March, two UAVs were found in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and Baekryeong Island in the West Sea. In April, one UAV was found in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, and another one on the same island in September.

The military presumes that the UAV detected on Monday is similar to those found in 2014, which had 1.9- to 2.5-meter wingspans and were 1.2 to 2 meters in length. It remains unconfirmed whether the UAVs detected on Monday were carrying any weapons or optical devices, a JCS official said.

The presidential office said the Director of National Security Kim Sung-han and other security officials responded immediately, but did not hold a National Security Council meeting regarding the UAV flight.