South Korea plans to create a stealth drone unit against North

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to create a military unit specializing in stealth drones in response to North Korea's advancements in this field.

Yoon called for stronger air defenses and high-tech military drones on Tuesday after the brass apologized for failing to shoot down North Korean drones that crossed the border for the first time in five years.

Speaking during a cabinet council meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea’s president called for stronger air defense and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea.

South Korea's military scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters on Monday, but they failed to bring down any of the North Korean drones that flew back home or disappeared from South Korean radars. It raised serious questions about South Korea's air defense network at a time when tensions remain high.

“We have a plan to create a military drone unit tasked with monitoring key military facilities in North Korea. But we’ll advance the establishment of the drone unit as soon as possible because of yesterday’s incident,” Yoon said during the meeting. “We’ll also introduce state-of-the-art stealth drones and bolster our surveillance capability.” He said that South Korea’s military needs more intensive readiness and exercises to cope with threats posed by North Korean drones.

The remarks came a day after Seoul accused North Korea of flying drones across the rivals’ tense border for the first time in five years.

S. Korea scrambles jets, fires shots as North Korean drones cross border

South Korea scrambles jets and helicopters and fired warning shots after North Korean drones reportedly entered its airspace amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Lt. Gen. Kang Shin Chul, chief director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a televised statement the military feels sorry because of its failure to shoot down the North Korean drones and for causing big public concerns. Kang acknowledged South Korea lacks capacities to detect and strike small surveillance drones with a wingspan of less than 3 meters though it has assets to spot and bring down bigger combat drones. Kang said South Korea will establish drone units with various capacities and aggressively deploy military assets to shoot down enemy drones.

It was the first time North Korean drones entered South Korean airspace since 2017. The drone flights came three days after South Korea said North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles, extending its record testing activities this year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised the North’s progress in the field of drones, voicing interest at a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party last year to develop new reconnaissance drones capable of flying up to 500km.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high as Seoul continues to hold joint drills with the United States, while Pyongyang, which sees the exercises as a rehearsal for invasion, continues to develop and test its defense tools. North Korea has time and again warned that it will not tolerate US-led war games in the region.

The country has been reeling under multiple UN Security Council sanctions since 2006, however, that has not prevented it from developing its nuclear and missile capabilities as a deterrent against hostile West-led moves.

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