North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un attends the opening ceremony of the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm to mark the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, in North Korea, in this undated photo released on October 11, 2022 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo)
SEOUL – South Korea scrambled fighter jets after a group of about 10 North Korean military aircraft flew close to the border dividing the two countries, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, amid heightened tensions over repeated North Korean missiles tests.
The statement said the North Korean aircraft were detected flying about 25 km (15 miles) north of the Military Demarcation Line in the central region of the Korea border area and about 12 km (7 miles) north of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea. The incident happened between 10:30 p.m. Thursday (1330 GMT) and 0:20 a.m. (1530 GMT) local time Friday.
It said the aircraft were also seen near the eastern part of the inter-Korean border.
The statement said the South Korean air force “conducted an emergency sortie with its superior air force, including the F-35A, and maintained a response posture, while carrying out a proportional response maneuver corresponding to the flight of a North Korean military aircraft.”