Yoon Suk-yeol orders sending of drones across border if North Korea sends one

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol had ordered an in-kind response when North Korean drones infiltrated South Korean airspace earlier this week, telling aides to send two to three drones across the border if the North sent one, a senior official said Wednesday.

Yoon also ordered officials to shoot down North Korean drones if necessary, the official told reporters, recounting the tense situation at the presidential office when five North Korean drones flew into the South on Monday.

"When the first one came down, the president instructed us to immediately carry out corresponding measures against the North, saying we also have drones," the official said. "He ordered us to send up two to three in response to one from North Korea. He gave an order that we should shoot it down if necessary and take related measures as much as possible."

The official rejected criticism from the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) that the top office failed to handle the situation properly without even convening a meeting of the presidential National Security Council at the time.

"It was not a situation to hold an NSC meeting and it was not even needed," the official said, adding that National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han frequently received instructions from Yoon and relayed them to the Joint Chiefs of Staff via the defense minister.

Kim also held an emergency meeting with key security-related ministers on Tuesday, the official said.

"An emergency security meeting was convened to evaluate the situation of North Korea's drone provocation and to discuss future countermeasures and responses," the official said.

Yonhap