On the 10th, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, via the Korean Central News Agency, claimed that they had shot down unmanned aerial vehicles that South Korea infiltrated in September last year and on the 4th, and threatened that there would be a price to pay. The photo shows imaging devices from what North Korea claims were South Korean drones. Yonhap News Agency

The Ministry of National Defense said on the morning of the 10th that it has confirmed there were no drone operations by the South Korean military on the dates claimed by North Korea.

Earlier, North Korea asserted that South Korea infiltrated drones in September last year and on the 4th, and strongly warned that there would be consequences.

President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, and relevant agencies are conducting additional checks on the details. In addition, Cheong Wa Dae was reported to have convened an NSC working-level coordination meeting to respond to the North’s claim of a ‘drone incursion’.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyu-baek, referring to the drone for which North Korea released photos while claiming it had forced it to crash, said, “It is not a model our military possesses.” He also said, “The nightmare of martial law was only the other day; how could that be possible,” and emphasized, “On that day, the Drone Operations Command, the Ground Operations Command, and the Marine Corps Command did not conduct flight training.”