PYONGYANG: North Korea announced on Saturday that it has discovered remains of at least one drone, purportedly sent from South Korea, in its capital, Pyongyang. The North described the drone as similar to those featured in South Korea’s Armed Forces Day celebrations earlier in the month.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Pyongyang has accused Seoul of dispatching drones to disseminate anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the city. However, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has stated that he cannot verify these claims made by the North.
A spokesperson for North Korea’s defense ministry reported in a statement that the Pyongyang Municipal Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security located the remains of the crashed drone on October 13. The inquiry identified the drone as a “light one for long-range reconnaissance,” allegedly employed by the South Korean military’s “Drone Operation Command,” as per the statement from the North’s Korean Central News Agency.
The North Korean official con
tended that the drone matched the type displayed during South Korea’s Armed Forces Day on October 1. However, it remains undetermined whether this specific drone was involved in dispersing leaflets over central Pyongyang.
The statement further warned that if the drone’s connection to the recent leaflet-scattering incident is dismissed, it would represent a significant breach of North Korea’s airspace by South Korean military forces, marking yet another provocation by what the North terms as “military gangsters” from the hostile country.
The Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as South Korea, is officially designated as a “hostile state” by North Korea, following leader Kim Jong-un’s directive to view the South as an adversary instead of a partner for potential reconciliation and unification. This has led to heightened tensions along the inter-Korean border in recent weeks.