Pyongyang: North Korea says it has spotted another South Korean drone violating its airspace. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday that South Korea sent another drone that violated its airspace on January 4, a violation of sovereignty.
According to Thai News Agency, KCNA quoted a North Korean military spokesman as saying the drone originated from an island in Incheon, South Korea, and flew 8 kilometers inside North Korean airspace before being shot down. Furthermore, KCNA stated that the drone was equipped with a surveillance camera to record images of important locations in North Korea. Images of the broken-up drone wreckage, electronic components, and aerial photographs of buildings that North Korea claims were taken by the drone have been released.
North Korean state media further reported that this incident occurred after another South Korean drone encroached on North Korean territory and was shot down over Kaesong last September. The report added that despite the change in government, South Korea continues its provocative drone attacks along the border and called North Korea its “most dangerous enemy.”
Since President Lee Jae-myung took office in June, North Korea has consistently rejected conciliatory offers from his administration, despite Lee’s promise to restore ties with North Korea to de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean military stated on Saturday that it did not conduct any drone operations on the date North Korea claimed, and President Lee has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.
Hong Min, a North Korea expert from the Korea Institute for National Unification, commented that the drones and electronic components displayed by South Korean state media were cheap consumer goods, and the videos shown depicted areas with no special informational value or military objectives. Mr. Hong added that the South Korean military has a large number of highly effective pieces of equipment that can clearly monitor areas along the ceasefire parallel, making it unlikely that this was an operation by the South Korean military.