South Korea scrambles jets after it spots North Korean warplanes in apparent bombing drill

SEOUL, Oct 6 (Reuters) – South Korea said it scrambled jets on Thursday after observing at least 12 North Korean warplanes flying in formation and conducting an apparent bombing drill, Yonhap news agency reported.

Twelve North Korean military aircraft flew in formation and presumably conducted a firing exercise Thursday, Seoul officials said, in apparent protest over recent military drills between South Korea and the United States.

The group of eight fighter jets and four bombers staged the formation flight north of the inter-Korean air boundary at around 2 p.m., and they were thought to have conducted air-to-surface firing drills, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Some 30 South Korean fighter jets were immediately deployed to the area in an “overwhelming” response to the flight, which is a move unseen over the past year, the JCS said.

The South’s Air Force scrambled the jets as the North’s warplanes moved south of the Special Reconnaissance Line, which Seoul has drawn just north of the inter-Korean boundary for security purposes.

The North’s provocative move came after Seoul and Washington have recently conducted air, ground and naval drills in response to a series of North Korean missile launches.