South Korea fires warning shots after North Korean drone seen

SEOUL — South Korea today (Jan 13) fired 20 machine gun warning shots after a North Korean drone briefly crossed the rivals’ border, South Korean military officials said.
The North Korean drone was flying dozens of metres south of the border and turned back to the North after the South fired, South Korean defence and military officials said, requesting anonymity because of office rules. The shots didn’t hit the drone.
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.

In 2014, Seoul officials discovered what they called several North Korean drones that had flown across the border. Those drones were crude and decidedly low-tech, but they were still considered a potential new security threat.
Since Friday, South Korea has been blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda and K-pop songs from huge speakers along the border. The North, which calls the broadcasts an act of war meant to threaten its system of government, is using speakers of its own in an attempt to keep its soldiers from hearing the South Korean messages.

South Korea’s president earlier Wednesday urged North Korea’s only major ally, China, to help punish Pyongyang’s nuclear test with the strongest possible international sanctions.