Why are North Korea's drones spooking the South?

North Korean drones entered South Korean airspace on Monday for the first time since 2017 in the latest example of escalating tensions between the neighbouring countries. The South's military was caught off guard, drawing criticism on Tuesday from President Yoon Suk-yeol, who sought to assuage concerns by announcing his cabinet would fast-track plans for a special drone unit. South Korea's military fired warning shots and some 100 rounds from a helicopter equipped with a machine gun but failed to bring down any of the drones. The military said it chased one of the five drones over the greater Seoul area but did not fully aggressively engage with it out of concern for civilian safety. A defence ministry official confirmed a South Korean KA-1 fighter jet was involved in an accident while flying to counter North Korea's drones after departing its Wonju base in the country's north.