North Korean Drones Fly into South Korean Airspace
2022-12-28
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1South Korea's military said Tuesday it regrets that it could not shoot down five unmanned North Korean aircraft that crossed into South Korean airspace.
2The aircraft, called drones, were small flying surveillance vehicles.
3They were not armed.
4South Korean leaders in Seoul said they would work to prevent future violations of their country's airspace.
5One of the North Korean drones made it as far as the northern part of Seoul before turning around. South Korean officials said they lost track of the other four drones.
6South Korean military leaders on Tuesday said their air defense system can follow larger drones, such as those carrying weapons.
7They said the surveillance drones were less than three meters long.
8The military said it fired and missed 100 times in its attempts to bring down the drones.
9The failure to track and shoot down the drones shows how effective small, unmanned vehicles can be.
10Drones have been used in the war between Russia and Ukraine this year.
11South Korean military leaders on Tuesday said they would answer the border crossing by starting a special drone group.
12The special group would be trained to follow and bring down future unmanned flying vehicles.
13South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol called his country's readiness "greatly lacking."
14He said plans were already in place to start a South Korean drone group that could fly into North Korea to observe the country's military buildings.
15Those plans will now move faster, Yoon said.
16North Korea has not discussed the incident.
17South Korea's military said its lack of preparedness had "caused a lot of concern for people."
18Shim Yeonmi, a 32-year-old runs a café in the Ganghwa close to the border with North Korea.
19She said she was glad the drones did not carry weapons.
20"But I still feel uncomfortable with the fact they are taking pictures and that we don't know where they are now," she told VOA.
21South Korean citizens and media had many reports of people seeing drones.
22Military officials, however, said many of those reports were incorrect.
23It is not clear what North Korea was trying to do with the drone flights.
24It is the first time the country sent drones to the south in more than five years.
25Dean Pinkston is an international relations professor for Troy University.
26He works in Seoul.
27He said the drones were likely sent to take pictures ahead of a North Korean political meeting this week.
28Pinkston is a former member of the U.S. Air Force.
29He said South Korea's plan to develop a drone group is a good idea, but it will take time and money.
30Pinkston said the drone fighting between Russia and Ukraine is making nations around the world pay more attention to the unmanned flying devices.
31"It's something everyone is...trying to adapt (to)," he said.
32I'm Faith Pirlo.
1South Korea's military said Tuesday it regrets that it could not shoot down five unmanned North Korean aircraft that crossed into South Korean airspace. 2The aircraft, called drones, were small flying surveillance vehicles. They were not armed. 3South Korean leaders in Seoul said they would work to prevent future violations of their country's airspace. 4One of the North Korean drones made it as far as the northern part of Seoul before turning around. South Korean officials said they lost track of the other four drones. 5South Korean military leaders on Tuesday said their air defense system can follow larger drones, such as those carrying weapons. They said the surveillance drones were less than three meters long. The military said it fired and missed 100 times in its attempts to bring down the drones. 6The failure to track and shoot down the drones shows how effective small, unmanned vehicles can be. Drones have been used in the war between Russia and Ukraine this year. 7South Korean military leaders on Tuesday said they would answer the border crossing by starting a special drone group. The special group would be trained to follow and bring down future unmanned flying vehicles. 8South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol called his country's readiness "greatly lacking." He said plans were already in place to start a South Korean drone group that could fly into North Korea to observe the country's military buildings. Those plans will now move faster, Yoon said. 9North Korea has not discussed the incident. 10South Korea's military said its lack of preparedness had "caused a lot of concern for people." 11Shim Yeonmi, a 32-year-old runs a café in the Ganghwa close to the border with North Korea. She said she was glad the drones did not carry weapons. 12"But I still feel uncomfortable with the fact they are taking pictures and that we don't know where they are now," she told VOA. 13South Korean citizens and media had many reports of people seeing drones. Military officials, however, said many of those reports were incorrect. 14It is not clear what North Korea was trying to do with the drone flights. It is the first time the country sent drones to the south in more than five years. 15Dean Pinkston is an international relations professor for Troy University. He works in Seoul. He said the drones were likely sent to take pictures ahead of a North Korean political meeting this week. 16Pinkston is a former member of the U.S. Air Force. He said South Korea's plan to develop a drone group is a good idea, but it will take time and money. 17Pinkston said the drone fighting between Russia and Ukraine is making nations around the world pay more attention to the unmanned flying devices. 18"It's something everyone is...trying to adapt (to)," he said. 19I'm Faith Pirlo. 20William Gallo and Lee Juhyun wrote this story for VOA. Dan Friedell adapted it for Learning English. 21_______________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23surveillance -n. the act of carefully watching someone or something 24violation -n. the act of doing something that is not permitted such as going into an area without permission 25uncomfortable -adj. to feel pain or to not feel at ease because of worry or doubt 26adapt -v. to change to meet new conditions 27We want to hear from you. What do you think the drones were looking for in South Korea? 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.