South Korea military sorry for failing to down North’s drones

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president has called for stronger air defenses and high-tech stealth drones while the military apologized for failing to shoot down North Korean drones that crossed the border for the first time in five years. South Korea’s military scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters on Monday (Dec. 26, 2022), but they failed to bring down any of the North Korean drones that flew back home or disappeared from South Korean radars. It raised serious questions about South Korea’s air defense network at a time when tensions remain high over North Korea’s torrid run of missile tests this year. On Tuesday, South Korea’s military again launched fighter jets and attack helicopters after spotting suspicious flight paths at a front-line area. They turned out to be a flock of birds.