North Korea Claims South Korean Drone Infiltration... South Korean Military Authorities Deny "Baseless" (Comprehensive)

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun Denies Drone Infiltration
Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Possibility of Civilian Group"
North Korea Launches Anti-South Trash Balloons on Same Day as Criticism

North Korea recently claimed that a South Korean drone infiltrated Pyongyang and dropped leaflets, but South Korean military authorities strongly denied these claims. On the 11th, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun denied the reports during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit, stating, "That never happened," and added, "We will accurately assess the situation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, "The military has never sent drones to North Korea," and regarding the possibility of civilian groups being involved, added, "We need to verify that."

North Korea's Korean Central News Agency condemned South Korea for dropping leaflets over Pyongyang using drones during the late hours of the 3rd, 9th, and 10th, presenting photos of drone-like objects taken with thermal observation devices (TOD) as evidence. These photos reportedly include shapes resembling drones.

South Korean military authorities clearly stated that they did not send drones to North Korea and are approaching the allegations raised by North Korea cautiously. They emphasized the need for further investigation and expressed that they would not rule out other possibilities. This leaflet-dropping issue has previously heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and this incident could become another seed of conflict between the two countries.

Meanwhile, on the same day, North Korea released balloons carrying trash aimed at South Korea. The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on the afternoon of the 11th that North Korea was floating objects presumed to be trash balloons directed at South Korea. Considering the high possibility of the balloons moving toward northern Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province, they urged caution regarding falling payloads and advised not to touch any balloons found on the ground. This marks the 28th time this year that North Korea has floated trash balloons toward South Korea.