A spokesman for the North Korean army, quoted by the state news agency KCNA, said that the drone flew over the North's territory on January 4 from an island near Incheon in the north-west of South Korea.
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Which drone was shot down by North Korea?
What did South Korea's defense minister say?
What evidence did North Korea present?
When is the important meeting in Pyongyang scheduled for?
The regime described its southern neighbor as its “most hostile opponent” and published photos of the remains of the plane that crashed near the border town of Kaesong.
“Seoul will certainly pay a high price for this unforgivable hysteria,” threatened the representative of the North Korean army. He also said that key military facilities were allegedly photographed using a drone.
South Korea calls a meeting
In response to these reports, South Korean President Li Jae Mjung convened an urgent meeting of the Security Council and ordered a detailed investigation.
Defense Minister An Gju Bak firmly denied Pyongyang's position, assuring that the South Korean army does not have such machines. He also proposed to North Korea to conduct a joint investigation, the Yonhap news agency reported.
Analysts note that the equipment presented by Pyongyang is a cheap civilian device. “Using an outdated drone that requires the physical removal of a memory card is, from a military point of view, unjustified,” said Hong Min, an expert from the South Korean Institute for National Unification, quoted by AFP.
The accusations come just before an important ruling party congress in Pyongyang. This is also the first serious breakdown in inter-Korean relations since President Li took power in Seoul in June 2025 and announced a policy of de-escalation.
In South Korea The investigation against former president Jun Suk Jeol is still ongoing. He is suspected of ordering provocative drone flights over Pyongyang at the end of 2024, which was to be used as a pretext to impose martial law.
