North Drone Sparks Military Response as 'Bird Flock' Takes Flight (Update)

Ganghwa-gun Disaster Alert Temporarily Suspected North Korean Drone

North Korean drone intrudes into airspace for the first time in 5 years
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Military authorities detected a flight path presumed to be from a North Korean drone around Incheon Ganghwa County and deployed response forces, but concluded it was confirmed to be a flock of birds.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the 27th at around 1 p.m., the military detected an unidentified flight path in the Ganghwa area and tracked it until 4 p.m., deploying strike assets. After verifying the situation, the military authorities' final judgment was that it was a flock of birds.

The response that day involved air force fighter jets and army aviation assets similar to those deployed during the previous day's airspace intrusion by a North Korean drone. On the previous day, 20 military aircraft including F-15K, KF-16 fighters, KA-1 light attack aircraft, Apache and Cobra attack helicopters were mobilized.

However, the military explained that no warning broadcasts or warning shots were conducted that day.

In this regard, a disaster safety message was sent in the afternoon from Ganghwa County stating, "A drone has been observed in the Seokmodo area, so please be cautious for safety," which led to speculation that a North Korean drone might have intruded again.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.