North Korean drone crosses border into South Korea

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

Tensions continued to escalate on the Korean Peninsula Wednesday, as the South opened fire after a drone infiltrated from the North.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the small unmanned aircraft briefly flew across the heavily guarded border that has separated the two sides since the Korean War ended in a truce in 1953.

The incident came to a rapid close almost as soon as it had begun shortly after 2 p.m. (0500GMT), when around 20 machine gun shots were fired by the South’s military.

“The military responded with warning broadcasts and shots before the vehicle immediately returned to the North,” read a JCS statement.

While the drone did not get far, the sound of machine gun fire was a signal that the current inter-Korean standoff might be shifting in a different direction.

Since last week’s fourth-ever nuclear test by North Korea, the two sides had largely limited themselves to psychological warfare in the form of propaganda broadcasts at the border -- with a B-52 flyby thrown in to the mix thanks to the South’s ally the United States.

North Korea has been suspected of sending over basic surveillance drones before, but any incursion in the present climate would naturally be taken seriously.

Last August, the Koreas exchanged fire before reaching a landmark cooperation agreement -- but South Korean President Park Geun-hye suggested she wanted the North to feel the pain of new sanctions during a televised address Wednesday.

With Seoul seeking the support of Pyongyang’s old ally China, North Korea’s next move will be monitored closely.

Based on numerous statements by Park and other officials in recent days, Seoul is anticipating a further provocation.