The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said yesterday that it had “smoking gun” proof that three crashed drones recovered in recent months had all been flown from North Korea.
Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said a joint investigation with US experts of recovered data from the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) showed they had been pre-programmed to fly over South Korean military installations and then return to the North.
“By analyzing the data, the joint investigation team has secured the smoking gun — clear, scientific evidence that all three UAVs originated from North Korea,” Kim said. “This is a clear military provocation.”
The drones were recovered in three different locations in the South near the inter-Korean land-and-sea border between March 24 and April 6.
One crashed due to an engine problem, while the other two ran out of fuel.
“All three had been programmed to fly over our military facilities,” Kim said, describing the drone incursions as “a new type” of military threat that required a “stern” response.
In a separate briefing with foreign journalists, South Korean Vice Minister of National Defense Baek Seung-joo said the drones were unsophisticated UAVs with no live ground-control system and rudimentary programming systems.
“However, there is always the possibility that the North might use them for attacks after arming them with high explosives, considering its irrational and reckless tendency for provocative acts,” Baek said.
North Korea has flatly denied any connection with the drones and has accused Seoul of fabricating a link in order to smear Pyongyang.
All three UAVs were equipped with cameras and had taken pictures of border areas and the capital Seoul, including the presidential palace.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said the North had an estimated 300 drones of various types and that it plans to acquire low-altitude surveillance radar to counter their threat.
There is evidence to suggest the North Korean models were based on a Chinese-made UAV and the ministry said Beijing had been asked to check a possible link between the Chinese manufacturer and Pyongyang.
The data recovered from the vehicles showed they had all been flown from different locations, between 5km and 30km inside the North Korean side of the border.
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