Military Denies North's Drone Infiltration Claim: "No Such Aircraft... Thorough Civilian Probe"

Ministry of National Defense: "No Intention to Provoke North Korea"

On January 10, the Ministry of National Defense denied any involvement by the South Korean military in response to North Korea's claim that South Korea had once again infiltrated unmanned aerial vehicles, stating that it would thoroughly investigate the possibility that the drones were civilian in origin.

Hongchul Kim, Director of Defense Policy, announced the Ministry's position on the North Korean General Staff's statement regarding unmanned aerial vehicles, and countered, "According to the initial investigation, our military does not possess the unmanned aerial vehicle in question, nor did we operate any drones during the time frame specified by North Korea."

Earlier that day, North Korea released a statement through the spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, claiming that South Korea had infiltrated drones in September last year and again on the 4th of this month.

North Korea asserted that these unmanned aerial vehicles took off during the daytime in border areas where civilian access is restricted and passed through all South Korean military surveillance equipment, adding, "It is not difficult to infer who is behind this."

Hongchul Kim, Director of Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, is announcing the Ministry of National Defense's position on the North Korean General Staff's statement regarding unmanned aerial vehicles at the Ministry of National Defense briefing room in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim explained, "Regarding the possibility that the drones may have been operated in the civilian sector, we plan to conduct a thorough investigation in cooperation with relevant government agencies."

He emphasized, "We have no intention to provoke or antagonize North Korea, and we will continue to take practical measures and make efforts to ease tensions and build trust between the two Koreas."

The Ministry of Unification also held an emergency executive meeting that afternoon, presided over by Vice Minister Kim Namjung, to assess the situation and discuss countermeasures. Afterward, the Ministry stressed, "We will continue consistent efforts, together with relevant agencies, to ease tensions and foster trust between South and North Korea."