The South Korean military apologized Tuesday for failing to destroy five North Korean drones that invaded its airspace. An apology that comes after being harshly criticized for its lack of promptness.
The invasion of South Korean airspace on Monday prompted Seoul to fire warning shots, launch fighter jets and helicopters to combat drones. One of them flew near the capital.
“Yesterday, five enemy drones invaded South Korean airspace. Our military detected and located them, but we apologize for not being able to shoot them down,” the head of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff was quoted as saying by AFP.
All drones must have returned to North Korea despite the five-hour combat operation. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledged that while the military can prevent “drones from posing a real threat,” there is a limit to its ability to detect and attack small spy drones.
“For this reason, the lack of preparation of the military has caused a lot of concern to the people,” justified the Army official.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday the incident showed military readiness was “very poor” and therefore ordered a plan to launch an air unit to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance operations to be accelerated. of key North Korean military installations.
It was the first time in years that North Korean drones had entered South Korean airspace. Something that happened shortly after several weapons tests.
Source: TSF
