North Korea ‘violated airspace': Seoul says, fires warning shots, scrambles jets

South Korea: The incident took place after South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the Military Demarcation Line.

South Korea scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters after North Korean drones violated its airspace. South Korea also fired warning shots after the incident, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea: Flags of North Korea, rear, and South Korea, front, flutter in the wind. (AP)

"Several North Korean unmanned aerial vehicles invaded our airspace" in the border areas around Gyeonggi province, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, AFP reported.

The incident took place after South Korea tracked the drones crossing from North Korea over what is known as the Military Demarcation Line between the two countries, Yonhap reported.

While scrambling to counter the drones, a South Korean KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed shortly after departing its Wonju base, a defence ministry official said, as per Reuters. Its two pilots were able to escape before the crash and are now in the hospital, the report added.

Earlier, South Korea's transport ministry said flights departing from its Incheon and Gimpo airports were suspended following a request from the military, Reuters reported.

The incursion is the first time in five years that North Korean drones have invaded South Korean airspace. It also comes as Pyongyang raised tensions with an unprecedented blitz of weapons tests this year.