North Korean drones cross border, airports shut temporarily

Planes are seen at Terminal 1 of the Incheon International Airport on Monday afternoon. [NEWS1]

Flight departures from Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport were temporarily suspended Monday afternoon as two North Korean drones crossed the border and were flying in the area.

Several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), suspected to be from North Korea, were spotted over Gyeonggi at around 10: 25 a.m., according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

If the UAVs are confirmed to be from the North, they would be the first drones to cross the border since 2017.

A drone crashed on a mountain in Inje, Gangwon, on June 9, 2017. It was found to have taken photos of a Thaad missile base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang.

The JCS wouldn't confirm whether the closing of the airports on Mondays was connect to the suspected incursion.

Flights were prohibited departing from Incheon at 1:22 p.m. and from Gimpo at 1:08 p.m. They both resumed normal operation as of 2:10 p.m., according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

No planes could take off for an hour and two minutes from Gimpo and for 48 minutes from Incheon.

“The temporary halt of flight departures was upon the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” said a spokesperson from the land ministry.

A source at Korea Airports Corporation said the order was made due to a military operation.

Due to the suspension, a total of 20 domestic flights at Gimpo were postponed, according to Korea Airports Corporation.

A total of 10 international flights were delayed at Incheon, according to Incheon International Airport Corporation.

At around 11:39 a.m., a KA-1 fighter jet was scrambled from an air base in Wonju, Gangwon, and crashed, according to Yonhap. The two pilots survived the crash. It is nor clear whether the flight was connected to the UAVs.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]