S. Korea launches jets, fires shots after North flies drones

South Korea's military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones had violated its airspace for the first time in five years in a fresh escalation of tensions.

South Korea's military had detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one had traveled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, which is about an hour's drive away, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. The attack helicopters fired a combined 100 rounds but it wasn't immediately known if the North Korean drones were shot down. There were no immediate reports of civilian damage on the ground in South Korea, as according to the Defense Ministry.

The North Korean drones and the swift response from the South came just days after the North had fired two short-range ballistic missile in the latest in its torrid run of weapons tests this year. Friday's launches were seen as a protest of the South Korean-U.S. joint air drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.

One of the South Korean fighter jets scrambled on Monday, a KA-1 light attack plane, crashed during takeoff but its two pilots had both ejected safely, defense officials said. They said they also requested civilian airports in and near Seoul to halt takeoffs temporarily.

South Korea also sent surveillance assets near and across the border to photograph key military facilities in North Korea as corresponding measures against the North Korean drone flights, the Joint Chiefs said. It didn't elaborate, but some observers say that South Korea likely flew unmanned drones inside North Korean territory.

"Our military will thoroughly and resolutely respond to this kind of North Korean provocation", Maj. Gen. Lee Seung-o, director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. South Korea's public confirmation of any reconnaissance activities inside North Korea is highly unusual and likely reflects a resolve by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol to get tough on North Korean provocations. North Korea could respond with more fiery rhetoric or weapons tests or other provocation, some observers say.

It's the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said at the time that the drone had photographed a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea with a Sony-made camera.

North Korea has previously touted its drone program, and South Korean officials said that the North has about 300 drones. In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones equipped with Japanesemade cameras were found south of the border. Experts said that they were low-tech, but could be considered a potential security threat.