South Korea says it must ‘punish’ North Korea despite nuclear threat

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol says Seoul must “retaliate against any provocation” by North Korea without fear and hesitation despite Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons in the wake of an alleged intrusion by North Korean drones.

During a meeting with his aides on Wednesday, the South Korean leader said his country was compelled to retaliate against what he called provocations by Pyongyang, just two days after North Korean drones reportedly entered South Korean airspace.

“We must punish and retaliate against any provocation by North Korea. That is the most powerful means to deter provocations,” Yoon said, according to his press secretary Kim Eun-hye. “We must not fear or hesitate because North Korea has nuclear weapons.”

On Monday, five North Korean drones purportedly crossed into South Korea, prompting the South's military to scramble a number of its jets and attack helicopters and fire warning shots to repel the alleged intrusion from its northern neighbor and arch-foe. The last similar incident occurred in 2017.

What happened on Monday triggered criticism in South Korea of the country's air defenses and prompted Yoon to chide the military, particularly its failure to shoot down or bring down the drones while they flew over the South for hours.

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.

The South's military said that in retaliation, it had sent a number of its drones over North Korea for three hours later on Monday.

Addressing the parliament on Wednesday, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said Yoon had ordered him to send drones into North Korea in response to any incursion “even if that means risking escalation."

The South's military also apologized for its weak response on Monday, saying it could not shoot down the drones because they were too small.

The two Koreas are still technically at war as the 1950-53 conflict between them ended in a truce and not a peace treaty.

Communications between the two neighbors have largely been cut in the aftermath of a second US-North Korea summit in Vietnam in February 2019. The summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then US President Donald Trump collapsed after they were ultimately unable to reach an agreement.

Separately on Wednesday, the South Korean Defense Ministry announced plans to spend 560 billion won ($441.26 million) over the next five years to boost its defense capabilities against drones, including the development of an airborne laser weapon and a signal jammer.

Seoul will also expand the country's drone capabilities to three squadrons.

Under the newly unveiled budget, South Korea aims to pour 331.4 trillion won ($261 billion) into its military until 2027, with an average annual increase of 6.8 percent. This year’s budget stood at 54.6 trillion won.

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

South Korea plans to create a stealth drone unit against North

South Korea

The drone flights on Monday came three days after Seoul said Pyongyang 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 500 kilometers.

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 and feed its military with more money. This is while North Korea has time and again warned that it will not tolerate US-led war games in the region.

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

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