North Korean drones pose major risk to South Korean airports, lawmaker says



News North Korean drones pose major risk to South Korean airports, lawmaker says Only small fraction of airfields have drone detection tech, Seoul confirms, but level of danger posed is less certain Jeongmin Kim \| Joon Ha Park January 31, 2024 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON ROK Ground Operation Command, Air Force Operation Command and Army Aviation Command conducts DPRK drone extermination exercises in Dec. 2022 \| Image: ROK JCS Very few South Korean airports have equipment designed to detect hostile drones, an opposition party lawmaker told NK News Tuesday, leaving them vulnerable to North Korean reconnaissance and other types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu said that only three out of 15 airports in the country have the right radars, radio frequency (RF) scanners and Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) cameras to detect drones. The airports equipped for such contingencies are Incheon International Airport — by far South Korea’s busiest airfield — nearby Gimpo airport and Jeju Island airport, all of which Maeng said can detect UAV security © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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North Korean drones pose major risk to South Korean airports, lawmaker says

Only small fraction of airfields have drone detection tech, Seoul confirms, but level of danger posed is less certain

Jeongmin Kim | Joon Ha Park January 31, 2024

North Korean drones pose major risk to South Korean airports, lawmaker says

ROK Ground Operation Command, Air Force Operation Command and Army Aviation Command conducts DPRK drone extermination exercises in Dec. 2022 | Image: ROK JCS

Very few South Korean airports have equipment designed to detect hostile drones, an opposition party lawmaker told NK News Tuesday, leaving them vulnerable to North Korean reconnaissance and other types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Seong-gyu said that only three out of 15 airports in the country have the right radars, radio frequency (RF) scanners and Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) cameras to detect drones.

The airports equipped for such contingencies are Incheon International Airport — by far South Korea’s busiest airfield — nearby Gimpo airport and Jeju Island airport, all of which Maeng said can detect UAV security

About the Authors

Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is Executive Director at Korea Risk Group, based in Seoul. She covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.

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Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

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