Kim Byung-joo "North Korea communication? You can tell the no-fly zone just by looking at Google Maps"

Inappropriate Location of Air Defense Position Established in Yongsan
"Security Gap Realized Due to Presidential Office Relocation"
"Issue Directly Related to Safety of Capital Region Citizens"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Kim Byung-joo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who first raised the possibility of North Korean drones violating the 'No-Fly Zone (P-73),' stated on the 6th, "When I marked the no-fly zone and the drone's flight trajectory on Google Maps, it passed through the no-fly zone," adding, "This is something any Seoul citizen who knows how to read maps can understand."

Earlier, based on the flight trajectory reported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff last month, Rep. Kim raised the possibility that the drone violated the no-fly zone around Eunpyeong, Jongno, Dongdaemun, Gwangjin, and Namsan areas.

Kim, a former four-star general, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the same day and said, "I always consider the no-fly zone, and if it is an area connected to Namsan, it enters the 3.7 km radius of the no-fly zone."

He continued, "At that time, the Minister of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that since the drone was sometimes detected and sometimes not, when it was not detected, they just connected the flight lines continuously," adding, "So, I raised suspicions and asked for an inspection, leaving open the possibility that the drone might have entered the no-fly zone when it was not detected."

He viewed the core issue of the North Korean drone incident as the military authorities not considering the possibility of intrusion and blocking it at the source. Kim said, "If the drone entered the no-fly zone, it would have caused a huge uproar, so they might have hoped it was not the case, or there is a possibility they tried to cover up this incident," raising suspicions that the Presidential Office might have pressured the Ministry of National Defense.

Kim Byung-joo, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Kim said, "I did not conclude the intrusion possibility but asked for an inspection, yet the Ministry of National Defense strongly denied it the next day, even calling it an act of treason," criticizing, "The Ministry of National Defense should not be able to call it an act of treason to the National Defense Committee." He added, "Since the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense are together, I speculate that the Presidential Office and the Security Office indirectly pressured the Ministry of National Defense to prevent any fallout from affecting the Presidential Office."

Regarding the ruling party's allegations of collusion with North Korea, he said, "It was so absurd and ridiculous that I couldn't sleep at night, as if they were saying I was colluding with North Korea," sarcastically questioning, "Why don't they raise collusion allegations against the media that reported the intrusion?"

On the no-fly zone violation, he criticized it as a "complete failure of the security operation." Kim emphasized, "The no-fly zone, which is the sky fence of the Presidential Office, is an area where any intruder must be shot down," and stressed, "It should be seen as the Presidential Office was breached." He also said, "Five drones circled our airspace for five hours, yet we were helpless. This is unacceptable."

He also raised concerns about the location of the Yongsan Presidential Office in the city center, stating that the surrounding environment, such as tall buildings, prevented the establishment of a perfect air defense base. Kim said, "Since the Presidential Office relocation, I have repeatedly raised issues about reducing the no-fly zone from 8 km to 3.7 km and the air defense base construction problems, warning that a security gap would occur," pointing out, "This has now become a reality."

Kim pointed out that the current air defense base might not be suitably located to cover the entire no-fly zone. He said, "The air defense base should be at the highest point, but Yongsan is hidden by a forest of buildings, so bases must be built in civilian apartments or corporate buildings," speculating, "Therefore, some bases probably could not be established on higher ground and were placed inside military facilities." He also emphasized that checking air defense base construction should come before establishing a drone unit.

View of the Yongsan Presidential Office area from Namsan on the 5th. Photo by Yonhap News

He directly criticized the military authorities, saying, "The report to the President about the no-fly zone violation was made on the morning of the 4th, but it took more than a day to announce it to the public, and in the meantime, the media found out and reported it first," adding, "This is directly related to the safety of the people in Seoul and the metropolitan area of South Korea, yet it was handled too leisurely and complacently."

Kim declared, "The entire security leadership is not free from responsibility for this incident." He said, "It is an operational failure, a security failure, and a crisis management failure," and added, "The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Minister, the Chief of the Security Office, the National Security Office Director, and those in the President's security line must take responsibility."