South Korea ordered Gimpo and Incheon International Airports in the Seoul metropolitan area to temporarily halt all departures and arrivals on Monday afternoon after North Korean drones managed to breach the South’s defences and fly across the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries.
The South Korean military said it scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters to counter the threat after it tracked the drones across the demarcation line in what is being considered a major security breach.
Local media reported that at least one North Korean drone briefly managed to fly over the South Korean capital Seoul before being shot down. So-called ‘suicide drones’ have been used to deadly effect in Ukraine, where the Russian military has deliberately crashed explosive-laden Iranian-made drones.
The official Yonhap news agency said both Gimpo and Incheon International Airports were forced to halt all operations for around an hour on Monday afternoon following the security breach at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirmed it ordered a ground stop from around 1 pm to 2 pm on Monday but the ministry did not confirm the reason behind the unusual move.
