Incheon Seokmodo "Unmanned Drone Sightings" Alert... North Korean Drone Intrusion into Seoul After One Day

by Kim Dongpyo

Published 27 Dec.2022 16:13(KST)

Observation of North Korea-suspected Aircraft in Wonju and Hoengseong, Gangwon

Another unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was reported to have been observed around Seokmodo Island in Ganghwa-gun, Incheon.

Ganghwa-gun, Incheon City, sent out an emergency alert at around 3 p.m. stating that a drone was spotted in the Seokmodo area.

A Ganghwa-gun official explained, "We received a notification from Incheon City that a drone appeared again this afternoon," adding, "We heard that the drone seen earlier in the morning around Paju, Gyeonggi-do, moved to Ganghwa Island."

The Marine Corps observed a drone that appeared and then disappeared around Seokmodo Island at approximately 1:30 p.m. and reported it to Incheon City.

Ganghwa-gun made two public announcements at 2:43 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. in the Samsan-myeon and Seodo-myeon areas, urging residents to stay alert.

A Marine Corps official said, "We provided information to Incheon City regarding the drone," but added, "However, we cannot disclose detailed information at this time."

On the afternoon of the 27th, news about the North Korean drone airspace intrusion is being broadcast on a TV installed in the Seoul Station waiting room.

Meanwhile, at 10:25 a.m. the previous day, five North Korean drones, each with a wingspan of about 2 meters, crossed the Military Demarcation Line and flew over Seoul, Ganghwa, and Paju for about five hours before returning north.

Notably, the first drone detected reportedly entered the Eunpyeong area of Seoul and is suspected to have flown near Yongsan, where the Presidential Office is located. Our military deployed fighter jets and attack helicopters in response but failed to shoot it down.

This marks the first time in over five years since June 2017 that a North Korean drone has violated South Korean airspace.

On the same day, aircraft presumed to be North Korean drones were also reported in Wonju and Hoengseong, Gangwon Province.

According to the Gangwon Provincial Fire Headquarters and the Wonju and Hoengseong Fire Stations, at around 2:55 p.m., the Air Force received a report that a drone was observed 58 km north of the Wonju Air Base of the 8th Fighter Wing.