South Korea: A combined police and military investigation into North Korea’s alleged drone invasion
South Korea: In response to North Korea’s allegations of drone intrusions over the inter-Korean border, South Korean military and police authorities jointly opened an investigation on Monday.
Seoul’s defense ministry refuted the North’s military’s Saturday accusation that South Korea had breached its sovereignty by deploying drones into its territory in September and on January 4.
According to the National Office of Investigation of the National Police Agency, the combined team of around 30 military and police officers has begun looking into the reported invasions.
The military of South Korea has denied shipping the drones or using the types purportedly discovered in the North, which raises the likelihood that private organizations were responsible.
According to reports, police are giving top priority to investigating previous incidents using drones that resemble the kind that North Korea showcased.
Experts have denied that the drones in issue were used by the military, claiming that they seem to employ inexpensive, non-military components.
According to Yonhap news agency, some have claimed that the drones resemble a type made by Chinese drone company Skywalker Technology.
The unification ministry stated earlier in the day that despite Pyongyang’s latest accusation that Seoul conducts drone intrusions into the nation, the South Korean government would keep working to reduce tensions and foster trust with North Korea.
Yoon Min-ho, a spokesman for the unification ministry, made the comments after President Lee Jae Myung’s directive last week to form a combined military-police investigative team to investigate the purported drone invasions.
A day after the North Korean military said that the South had infringed on the North’s sovereignty by sending drones with surveillance equipment in September and on January 4, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, demanded on Sunday that Seoul give a thorough explanation.During a press conference, the spokesman said that it is critical to keep up the investigation team’s efforts to establish the truth quickly in order to reduce tensions and foster trust between the North and the South.
Additionally, Yoon reiterated Seoul’s position that it has no desire to provoke or annoy North Korea.
The likelihood that the drones were flown by private organizations has been raised by the South Korean military’s denial of dispatching the drones on the dates the North claims or using the models discovered in the North.