SEOUL – North Korea said Saturday that authorities found the remains of a South Korean drone during a search in the capital, Pyongyang, and that the drone proved that the South’s military was behind the alleged drone infiltrations over the city’s skies earlier in the month.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement described the North Korean claim as “unilateral” and “unworthy of responding.”
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The North’s official Korean Central News Agency released photos showing a seemingly damaged aircraft with wide, V-shaped wings and winglets. It said a joint investigation by North Korea’s military and state security agencies concluded that the aircraft, which it said was found on Oct. 13, was the same type of drone that appeared in a South Korean military parade earlier in October.
North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over the night skies of Pyongyang three different times this month to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets. It threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again.
The aircraft allegedly found in Pyongyang was likely one of the drones that were used to drop leaflets, North Korea’s Defense Ministry said, but further examinations were needed to verify that.
The ministry said that should South Korea deny that the aircraft was used to drop leaflets, that would only confess to a separate infiltration of North Korea’s airspace by the South’s military. If North Korea confirms another violation of its territorial ground, airspace and waters by the South’s military, that will be regarded as a “declaration of war and an immediate retaliatory attack will be launched,” the ministry added.
South Korea’s defense minister initially made a vague denial after the North's Oct. 11 accusation that the South sent drones over Pyongyang. The South’s military adjusted its response hours later, saying it couldn’t confirm whether or not the North’s claims were true.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are now at their worst in years as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ramps up his weapons tests and threats, and expands military cooperation with Russia. South Korea says that the North dispatched troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The animosity has been exacerbated by Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns between the Koreas in recent months.
Since May, North Korea has sent thousands of balloons carrying paper waste, plastic and other trash to drop on the South. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that authorities detected that North Korea had launched a new set of balloons toward the South on Saturday evening and urged citizens to be on the lookout for falling objects.
The South’s military has responded to the North Korean balloon campaigns by using loudspeakers at the border to broadcast propaganda and K-pop to North Korea. North Korea is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of Kim’s authoritarian government and his family’s dynastic rule.