SEOUL
\nPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday that South Korea must boost its preparedness to respond to airspace intrusions after the military failed to shoot down five North Korean drones that crossed the border.
\nThe Monday intrusion by the drones \u2014 one of which flew close to the capital Seoul \u2014 prompted the South\u2019s military to deploy fighter jets and attack helicopters.
\nBut despite a five-hour-long operation, the military failed to shoot down the North Korean drones, prompting widespread criticism over the response and an apology from the country\u2019s military.
\nPresident Yoon said Thursday that the incident was \u201cintolerable\u201d and added that the South should ensure that Pyongyang \u201crealize that provocations are always met with harsh consequences.\u201d
\n\u201cIn order for us to achieve peace, we need to make overwhelmingly superior war preparations,\u201d he said during a visit to the state-run Agency for Defense Development.
\n\u201cThe overall response system against all flying objects invading our airspace, on top of drones, must be re-examined to quickly make up for deficiencies.\u201d
\nYoon earlier this week slammed the military\u2019s handling of the incident, and ordered the acceleration of a plan to launch a drone unit, which would include advanced stealth models, to carry out surveillance on Pyongyang\u2019s key military facilities. The South\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday it would stage exercises focused on drones.
\nThe incursion was the first time in five years that Pyongyang\u2019s drones had flown into the South\u2019s airspace and followed a recent flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests by the North. The North\u2019s leader, Kim Jong Un, said this year that he wanted North Korea to have the world\u2019s most powerful nuclear force, and declared his country an \u201cirreversible\u201d nuclear state.
\nYoon said the North\u2019s nuclear weapons would not affect Seoul\u2019s responses to Pyongyang\u2019s future provocations.
\n\u201cRegardless of whether the opponent has nuclear weapons or weapons of mass destruction, we should give a clear message to those who are provoking,\u201d Yoon said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL President Yoon Suk-yeol said Thursday that South Korea must boost its preparedness to respond to airspace intrusions after the military failed to shoot down five North Korean drones that crossed the border. The Monday intrusion by the drones \u2014 one of which flew close to the capital Seoul \u2014 prompted the South\u2019s military to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-304345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n