[Anchor]

The conflict between the Houthi movement, which is shaking global oil supply chains, and Saudi Arabia is intensifying. The Houthis released footage of a downed Saudi warplane, while Saudi Arabia has begun deploying ballistic missiles in response.

Paris from Correspondent Kwon Yeongin.

[Reporter]

The wreckage of a fighter jet lies shattered and engulfed in flames, with the Saudi Arabian flag clearly visible on the barely recognizable tail fin.

On the 16th local time, the Houthi movement released the footage, claiming they shot down a Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jet over the skies of northeastern Yemen.

[God is the greatest. Death to America, death to Israel.]

The Houthis also claimed to have launched large-scale drone and missile attacks on oil facilities in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, and the Khamis Mushait air base.

Yanbu is a key Saudi hub for exporting oil through the Red Sea instead of the blocked Strait of Hormuz.

[Yahya Saree / Houthi Spokesperson: We attacked Aramco facilities with dozens of missiles and drones, and the strikes were precise and accurate.]

Saudi Arabia, which has been bombing hundreds of Houthi strongholds using fighter jets, has even fired Chinese-made Dongfeng-15 ballistic missiles.

Some analyses suggest the attack failed due to a malfunction, but the letters "DF," standing for Dongfeng, are clearly visible on the missile body that fell in the Yemeni desert.

Foreign media analyzed that Saudi Arabia, which had denied acquiring Chinese missiles out of consideration for the United States, used ballistic missiles in actual combat for the first time after only possessing them for decades.

It is also reported that Saudi Arabia, facing depleted inventories of defensive interceptor missiles amid the Houthi offensive, requested support from France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Egypt, but was refused.

The United States, facing a shortage of interceptor missiles due to the war with Iran, is also in no position to help.

Isolated with its oil exports blocked, Saudi Arabia is exploring ways to export crude oil through ship-to-ship transfers near the port of Sohar in Oman. Projections also indicate that if the shutdown of the attacked Saudi pipelines continues for a month, global crude oil supply will drop by 4%.

(Video by Kim Si-nae | Video Editing by Park Chun-bae | Design by Choi Jae-young)