South Korea’s president yesterday called for stronger air defenses and high-tech stealth drones, while the military apologized for failing to shoot down North Korean drones that crossed the border for the first time in five years.
South Korea’s military on Monday scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters, but they failed to bring down any of the North Korean drones, which flew back home or disappeared from South Korean radars.
It raised questions about South Korea’s air-defense network at a time when tensions remain high over North Korea’s missile tests this year.
Photo: AFP
“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 [Monday’s] incident,” South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said during a regular Cabinet Council meeting. “We’ll also introduce state-of-the art stealth drones and bolster our surveillance capability.”
South Korea’s military needs more intensive readiness and exercises to cope with threats posed by North Korean drones, he said.
Lieutenant General Kang Shin-chul, chief director of operation at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a televised statement that the military feels sorry because of its failure to shoot down the North Korean drones and for causing public concern.
South Korea lacks capacities to detect and strike small surveillance drones with a wingspan of less than 3m, although 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, he said.
A front-line county office in South Korea yesterday sent emergency text messages notifying residents of a new batch of North Korean drones, but the military later said that it was a flock of birds.
On Monday, South Korea sent its own surveillance assets, apparently uncrewed drones, across the border as corresponding steps against the North Korean drone flights.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS