Overview
- KCNA on Jan. 10 carried a Jan. 9 General Staff statement claiming a Jan. 4 airspace intrusion by a South Korean reconnaissance drone.
- North Korea says it tracked the aircraft over Ganghwa County and forced it down near Kaesong using electronic warfare equipment.
- Pyongyang claims it recovered the drone, found footage of North Korean territory, and said the flight was set for 3 hours 10 minutes at 100–300 meters.
- The statement labeled the incident a sovereignty violation and warned it would make South Korea “pay.”
- South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the drone was not its aircraft and that it ran no flights at that time, while experts assessing KCNA photos said the model appears commercially available rather than military.