Monday marked a troubling day in South Korean history, when war-like tensions rose after North Korean drones entered its airspace. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff quickly detected the breach and issued warning shots and surveillance assets to fortify the heavily defended border. The provocations traveled as far as the northern part of Seoul, an hour’s drive away from the border — demonstrating the perceived lack of US leadership in these mounting conflicts. Things are looking tense on either side of this highly regulated divide.
Rising tensions between North and South Korea reached an all-time high on Monday when North Korean drones dared to breach the heavily fortified border between the two countries. South Korea’s shocked military responded by quickly launching warning shots, fighter jets and surveillance assets amidst an atmosphere of concern about war. The worrisome intrusion occurred during a time that many critics have labelled as a period of lacking US leadership in tension-filled East Asia, which only remains to be seen if such bold violences will continue or cease.
Abc news reports, As a fresh escalation of tensions occurred on Monday, South Korea’s military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets, and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea. North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years.
One of the North Korean drones flew as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, about an hour’s drive away, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Watch.
The swift response came after a flurry of missile and weapon tests by the North Korean leader this month.
CNN reports, Two short-range ballistic missiles were launched by North Korea on Friday, the latest in a year of unprecedented weapons testing.
A missile was fired from Pyongyang’s Sunan area at 4:32 p.m. local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement Friday. Two missiles were launched into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to the report.
According to the country’s defense ministry, the Japan Coast Guard believes a ballistic missile has fallen outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
This is the 36th day that North Korea has fired missiles this year alone, often launching multiple weapons simultaneously.
US and South Korean experts have warned that Pyongyang could be preparing for its first nuclear test in more than five years under Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
The audacity of North Korea to breach the heavily fortified border between the two countries on Monday with drones sent shockwaves through South Korea and brought war closer than ever before. It has become increasingly clear that US leadership in East Asia has weakened, and it remains to be seen if such brazen provocations will continue or cease until war is inevitable. With war looming closer everyday, military training and a strengthening of regional alliances are paramount in an effort to deter any impending nuclear war. But the fact remains, this never would have occurred under Trump’s leadership, and just goes to highlight how weak of a leader Joe Biden really is.
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