South Korea Vows to Strengthen Surveillance, Reconnaissance Tasks After North Korean Drone Raid

The US reiterates its “iron” commitment to the defense of South Korea

Dec. 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, has promised this Tuesday to reinforce the surveillance and reconnaissance operations of the Army after the infiltration of North Korean drones across the border during the day on Monday, which provoked a response from Seoul and again raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

“I think that people clearly saw the danger of a North Korean policy that depended on good intentions and military agreements with North Korea,” he said, before revealing that the South Korean authorities “had been planning the establishment of a drone unit to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance operations on key North Korean military installations and, given yesterday’s incident, we will speed it up as much as possible.”

In this sense, he regretted that Parliament cut the budget proposed by the Government for operations with drones by 50 percent and stressed that Seoul will reinforce the aforementioned capacities “by introducing advanced invisible drones”, as stated in the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

For its part, the United States has reiterated its commitment to the defense of North Korea after Monday’s incident, which involved the entry into South Korean airspace of a total of five North Korean drones, including one that reached an area located north of Seoul.

“We recognize the need for South Korea to protect its territorial integrity. The United States’ commitment to the defense of South Korea remains strong,” said a White House National Security Council spokesman, who also confirmed consultations. “close” with Seoul “regarding the nature of this raid.”

The event is the first of its kind since 2017, although between 2014 and 2017 Seoul denounced numerous drone overflight operations by North Korea and warned of the military threat posed by these devices, both to carry out attacks and in operations of espionage. It also takes place amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula following the latest ballistic missile fire from Pyongyang.

The US and South Korean authorities agreed last week to conduct “realistic” joint military exercises, especially in the face of missile or nuclear attack scenarios by North Korea. The South Korean Ministry of Defense stressed that the parties also plan to expand their joint exercises for next year after a meeting between senior defense officials from both countries.