(5th LD) defense chief-N Korea
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| ▲ This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 10, 2026, shows what North Korea claimed was a drone sent by South Korea on Sept. 27, 2025. The North's military said it struck the drone with its electronic means to force it to fall in Jangphung County in the North's border city of Kaesong. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defense minister for national defense policy, speaks during a briefing over North Korea's claims of South Korean drone incursions in September 2025 and on Jan. 4, 2026, at the defense ministry's headquarters in central Seoul on Jan. 10. South Korea's military has denied involvement over the North's claims. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This composite image, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 10, 2026, shows debris of drones that North Korea claimed were sent by South Korea across the border. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(5th LD) defense chief-N Korea
(5th LD) S. Korean defense minister denies N. Korea's drone infiltration claims
(ATTN: ADDS unification ministry's comments in last para, photo)
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense chief on Saturday denied North Korea's claims that its drones infiltrated into the North in September last year and earlier this week, saying the drones in question were not models operated by the South Korean military.
North Korea claimed earlier in the day that South Korea infringed on its sovereignty with drone incursions, saying that Seoul should be ready to "pay a high price" for what it called a provocation.
In response to an inquiry by Yonhap News Agency, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the North's alleged claims were "absolutely not true," noting the photos of the drones released by the North were not of models owned by the South Korean military.
"How could that be possible when the nightmare of martial law still feels like it was just yesterday?" Ahn said, adding the drone operation command, the Army's ground operations command and the Marine Corps headquarters had not conducted flight operations on the dates claimed by North Korea.
Ahn also suggested the matter could be jointly investigated by South and North Korea.
In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, North Korea claimed South Korea's drones had infiltrated into the North on two occasions, while denouncing Seoul as "the most hostile" enemy.
On Jan. 4, North Korea's military captured and tracked an air target moving northward from the sky over South Korea's Ganghwa County, Incheon, and struck the drone with special electronic warfare assets, forcing it to fall in Muksan-ri near the North's border city of Kaesong, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It also claimed that on Sept. 27, a drone, which took off from the South's border city of Paju, fell into Jangphung County, Kaesong, after being struck down by the North's electronic means. The drone was returning after infiltrating the sky above Phyongsan County, North Hwanghae Province.
The defense ministry said President Lee Jae Myung had ordered a "thorough" investigation into the matter, with relevant agencies verifying the details of the case.
"Preliminary findings confirmed that the South Korean military does not possess the drone in question, nor did it operate any drones on the dates claimed by North Korea," the ministry said, adding it plans to look into the possibility that civilians were behind the drone infiltrations.
"We have no intention of provoking North Korea and will continue to take practical steps and make efforts to ease inter-Korean tensions and build trust," Kim Hong-cheol, the deputy defense minister for national defense policy, said in a televised briefing.
South Korea's military also said it did not detect any drones that crossed into North Korea on the dates of the purported flights.
A military official, however, noted difficulties in tracking radar signatures flying into the North from South Korea, as surveillance operations are focused on monitoring incoming North Korean drones.
Meanwhile, the unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it convened a meeting to discuss response measures to North Korea's statement, vowing to make efforts to ease tensions and foster trust between the Koreas.
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