SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea on Wednesday fired warning shots after an unknown object from North Korea was seen flying close to the rivals’ border, the South’s military said. South Korean media reported that it was a North Korean drone.
It is the first time shots have been fired in what has so far been a Cold War-style standoff between the Koreas in the wake of the North’s nuclear test one week ago.
The North Korean object turned around after the South fired, the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It did not say whether the South Koreans hit anything. Yonhap news agency reported that the South fired 20 rounds from machine guns after a drone was spotted. South Korean military officials did not immediately confirm the report.
North Korean drone flights across the world’s most heavily armed border are rare but have happened before.
North Korea has in recent years touted its drone program, a relatively new addition to its arsenal. In 2013, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched a drone attack drill on a simulated South Korean target.