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Five North Korean drones have breached the border and violated South Korean airspace for the first time in 5 years, with South Korea sending its own surveillance drones to trespass the border with North Korea on December 26th, 2022 in response. The North Korean drones flew through South Korean airspace for five hours until most of them disappeared from South Korean military radars, and one of them was confirmed to return to the North after 3 hours in South Korea.

There were no reports of civilian damage, but tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose as South Korea’s military responded by launching fighter jets and attack helicopters and firing warning shots. During the corresponding aircraft deployment, a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed on takeoff for an unknown reason, with both pilots escaping unharmed. Due to a request from the military, flights departing from local airports were suspended for about an hour before flight departures resumed. South Korea’s military apologized for its pursuit failure, “Our military’s lack of preparedness has caused much concern to the people,” Lieutenant General Kang Shin-chul said on Tuesday, December 27th.

South Korea previously announced the threat of North Korean drones in 2014 and 2017 when suspected North Korean drones were found crashed in the South. North Korea has recently conducted a substantial number of missile tests, and this provocation followed Friday’s two short-range ballistic missile launchings, which was considered a protest against the joint military drills between South Korea and its allies. “Our military will respond thoroughly and resolutely to North Koran provocations,” said Major General Lee Seung-oh, director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to increase its surveillance and reconnaissance capability by boosting the development of advanced stealth drones. The Ministry of National Defense said it would build and deploy weapons to detect and destroy drones in the next five years with a $434 million budget. North Korea has publicly demonstrated its drone capabilities, with reportedly 300 drones, according to a report by U.N. sanctions monitors. “U.S. officials were consulting closely with the Republic of Korea about the nature of this incursion. We recognize the need of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to protect its territorial integrity. The U.S. commitment to the defense of the ROK remains ironclad,” a White House National Security official said regarding the latest provocation from North Korea.