Senior Official "Final Confirmation of North Korean Drone Flight Path on the 3rd"
To Opposition Lawmaker Raising "Possibility of Infiltration up to Namsan Area"
"Military Also Did Not Know... Was It a Lie?" Rebuttal
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Presidential Office announced on the 5th that the final flight path of the North Korean drone that violated South Korean airspace on December 26 last year was confirmed by the military authorities on the 3rd, and President Yoon Seok-yeol was briefed on it the following day and ordered it to be disclosed to the public.
This explanation was given as a rebuttal to criticisms from the opposition that the Presidential Office did not promptly inform the media about the North Korean drone entering the no-fly zone around the Yongsan Presidential Office.
A senior official from the Presidential Office stated at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the afternoon of the same day, "President Yoon was briefed yesterday (the 4th) by the Minister of National Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the North Korean drone had entered the no-fly zone," adding, "Since this differs from what the public knew, he ordered immediate disclosure and notification."
The official also explained the response of the military authorities and the Presidential Office from December 26, when the North Korean drone intrusion occurred, until the present. The official said, "The North Korean drone crossed the Military Demarcation Line and violated our airspace on December 26 last year. The starting point was the 26th," and added, "After aftershocks continued until the 27th, the military's combat readiness inspection began on the 28th."
He continued, "On January 1, the inspection team’s air defense radar detected a flight path of the North Korean drone brushing inside the no-fly zone. Accordingly, the military authorities cross-checked whether it could be identified on other radar computers, since it was detected only at one location," and added, "Therefore, after the inspection team re-examined the radar computers on January 2 and 3, they made the final judgment on January 3 that it was highly likely the North Korean drone brushed past the northern part of the no-fly zone."
President Yoon was briefed on the final judgment by the military authorities on the 4th, the following day, emphasizing, "Since it is difficult to analyze small drones, it was necessary to conduct a full investigation of multiple radar computers considering the detection range of the air defense radar."
The official also said, "After receiving this report, President Yoon ordered a strong readiness posture against the North Korean drone, which is defined by the Presidential Office as a soft terror act aimed at political and social disruption," and added, "He also stated that the Ministry of National Defense must be firmly armed to prevent any further provocations by disclosing and informing the public."
When asked whether President Yoon ordered a review of the September 19 military agreement as a follow-up measure after being briefed on the no-fly zone violation, the senior official replied, "As far as I know, the report had not been made at that time."
The Presidential Office had previously held a press briefing around 11 a.m. the day before to disclose President Yoon's order to "consider suspending the effectiveness of the September 19 agreement in case of North Korea's territorial re-invasion."
Regarding Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo's claim, based on the flight path reported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the drone might have intruded into areas including Eunpyeong, Jongno, Dongdaemun, Gwangjin, and Namsan, the Presidential Office rebutted, "The combat readiness inspection has been ongoing since December 28 last year," and added, "The claims made by the opposition lawmaker to the media were unknown to both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Ministry of National Defense at the time of identification."
They further stated, "At that time, no one could have known the data. Was it a lie?" and questioned, "If there is a basis, where did you receive it from? Where did you get such data? Did you obtain something that we have not identified from somewhere?"
They added, "The authorities are questioning the source of the information, as neither the Ministry of National Defense nor the Joint Chiefs of Staff knew about it."
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