Korean military intercepting, attempting to shoot down North drones

A fighter jet crashed in Hoengseong, Gangwon, around 11: 40 a.m. Monday. The KA-1 is believed to have been sent to counter a drone believed to have been sent from North Korea. [YONHAP]

The military is attempting to shoot down several drones that may have crossed over from North Korea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The JCS said that the military detected multiple "unidentified objects" suspected to be unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from North Korea at 10:25 a.m. Monday over parts of Gyeonggi.

They were suspected of having crossed the inter-Korean border without prior permission from Seoul.

The JCS said that the aircraft were detected north of the military demarcation line (MDL) at the inter-Korean border in Gimpo, Gyeonggi.

They were spotted flying over Gimpo, Ganghwa Island and Paju, leading to the temporary suspension of civilian flights at the request of the JCS earlier on in the day.

The South Korean military aired warning broadcasts and fired warning shots.

It also deployed fighters, attack helicopters and aircraft to warn off the drones.

The military also deployed a KA-1 light attack aircraft, which crashed in Hoengseong County in Gangwon at 11:39 a.m. The two pilots on board escaped safely. The cause of the crash was not yet known.

This would mark the first time presumed North Korean drones entered South Korean airspace since 2017.

South Korea uncovered North Korean drone operations south of the inter-Korean border in 2014 and 2017.

The drones spotted Monday were similar to the UAVs spotted in 2014, said military officials.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]