North Korea Claims "Drone Provocation," Military Denies Allegation... Presidential Office Convenes NSC Meeting (Comprehensive)

North Korea: "Took Off from Civilian-Controlled Frontline... The Most Hostile Enemy"
Minister of National Defense Kyu-baek Ahn: "Not a Model Possessed by Our Military"
Presidential Office Convenes NSC Meeting Led by First Deputy Director of National Security Office

North Korea has escalated its threats by claiming that South Korea infiltrated unmanned aerial vehicles in September last year and on the 4th of this month. However, the South Korean military has completely denied these allegations, stating they are not true. The government immediately convened a National Security Council (NSC) meeting to respond to the situation.

The spokesperson for the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army of North Korea claimed on the 10th through the Korean Central News Agency that unmanned aerial vehicles infiltrated by South Korea in September last year and on the 4th of this month were shot down, threatening that there will be consequences for this. The photo shows a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle that North Korea claims crashed in Kaesong City, Kaepung District. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the Korean Central News Agency on January 10, the spokesperson for the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army claimed in a statement titled "South Korea Has Once Again Committed a Sovereignty Violation Provocation Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" that South Korean drones were shot down by electronic attacks on the 4th of this month and in September last year. The spokesperson released drone footage, flight records, and photos of debris, threatening that South Korea "must be prepared to face consequences."

North Korea asserted that the drones took off from the areas of Ganghwa County in Incheon and Paju City in Gyeonggi Province, flew over Kaesong and Pyeongsan in North Hwanghae Province, and claimed that the drones took off during the daytime from frontline areas where civilian access is restricted, passing through the South Korean military surveillance network. Based on this, North Korea insisted that the South Korean military was responsible.

The spokesperson said, "While talking about communication on the surface, South Korea does not stop its provocations," and labeled South Korea as "the most hostile enemy."

Kyu-baek Ahn, Minister of National Defense Photo by Yonhap News

However, the South Korean military immediately refuted these claims. The Ministry of National Defense stated, "It has been confirmed that our military did not operate unmanned aerial vehicles on the dates claimed by North Korea," and added, "President Lee Jae-myung has ordered a thorough investigation, and relevant agencies are conducting additional verification."

Minister of National Defense Kyu-baek Ahn also said, "The aircraft North Korea revealed is not a model possessed by our military," and emphasized, "On that day, the Drone Operations Command, Ground Operations Command, and Marine Corps Command all did not conduct any flight training." Minister Ahn proposed a joint inter-Korean investigation.

President Lee Jae-myung and Director of National Security Office Wi Sung-rak. Photo by Yonhap News

Experts have analyzed that the unmanned aerial vehicle disclosed by North Korea is unlikely to be military-grade. Shin Jongwoo, Secretary General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, assessed, "It appears to be assembled from commercially available civilian components that can be easily purchased online, and does not look like a typical military drone."

The presidential office responded to North Korea's claims by convening a working-level National Security Council (NSC) meeting on the same day. The meeting, presided over by the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, reviewed the facts behind North Korea's claims and discussed response measures.