Infiltrator: An undated picture showing a drone North Korea claims was found in the capital. — AFP
THE country said yesterday it found the remains of a South Korean drone during a search in its capital, Pyongyang, claiming the drone proved 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.”
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 Defence Ministry said, but further examinations were needed to verify 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, the ministry said. — AP
