North Korea accuses South of drone breach, threatens retaliation

The sister of North Korea's leader, Kim Yo-jong, accused South Korea on Tuesday of violating the airspace over Pyongyang with drones. She stated that Pyongyang has "clear evidence" of the South Korean military's guilt. She also threatened to "turn South Korea to ashes" if drones appear again. Seoul denies these accusations.

North Korea claims that the drone incident that took place over the nation's capital is the result of actions by South Korea.

"We know that the main culprit for the drone incident in Pyongyang is the South Korean military rabble," Kim said in a statement relayed via the state news agency KCNA. According to Kim, the North Korean authorities have evidence that the drones belonged to the armed forces of their southern neighbour.

Despite these strong accusations, the South Korean agency Yonhap pointed out that Kim Yo-jong has not presented any specific evidence to support her claims.

Seoul authorities simultaneously emphasise that the drones visible in the photos and recordings "do not clearly appear" to be from South Korea.

Lee Kun-wan, head of the Defence Development Agency, in a conversation with the "Korean Herald," questioned the North Korean allegations. "They are shaped like unmanned aerial vehicles that North Korea sent to the South in 2014 and (models) Sky-09 UAV, used in the North. Therefore, it's hard to say which one it is," Lee said during a parliamentary session, answering questions from deputies. He also added that there are "similarly-looking machines on the market, both commercial and military-developed".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea, in another statement, also accused South Korea of "infiltrating" Pyongyang's airspace using drones that allegedly distributed leaflets with propaganda content aimed against the regime. North Korean authorities report that these activities took place on 3rd, 9th, and 10th October. The ministry also warned Seoul of possible retaliation if such actions continue. As reported by The Independent, Pyongyang has threatened to "turn South Korea to ashes if the drone situation repeats."

North Korean authorities blew up part of the roads connecting both Koreas on their side of the border on Tuesday. This was reported by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in a short statement. The promise made at the beginning of the year by the Korean dictator was thus fulfilled.

These roads had not been used for a long time. They were renovated during a period of moderate rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang after the inter-Korean summit in 2000.