North Korea has once again claimed that an analysis of the flight control program on a crashed UAV shows it originated from Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, directly accusing the South Korean military of orchestrating the flight.
According to Yonhap News, North Korea’s state-run media, KCNA reported that a spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of National Defense announced the final investigation findings on Sunday. The spokesperson framed the incident as a “sovereignty violation,” asserting that North Korea confirmed the takeoff location, infiltration path, and intent behind a South Korean-originated UAV’s intrusion.
After disassembling the UAV and analyzing its flight control program, North Korean authorities allege they discovered that “the UAV took off from Baengnyeong Island at 11:25 p.m. on October 8, violating the airspace of our Republic.” They added, “It flew over the waters near Changyon County in South Hwanghae Province and Cho Island before altering its course to enter the airspace over Chollima District in Nampo City and eventually into the airspace over our capital.”
The spokesperson went on to claim, “At 1:32 a.m. on October 9, the UAV dropped propaganda materials over the Foreign Ministry building and Seungri Station, and minutes later, over the Defense Ministry building.” They asserted that the flight module was programmed to trigger dispersal at predetermined locations.
North Korea also claimed the flight control program contained 238 flight plans and flight histories recorded between June 5, 2023, and October 8, 2024. All records except for the October 8 data were from flights within South Korean territory.
To back up these claims, North Korea reportedly released an image depicting the alleged flight path on October 8. The map shows a green line tracing the UAV’s route, which allegedly climbed up the western coast from Baengnyeong Island, entered Pyongyang’s airspace, and returned to Baengnyeong.
North Korea explained that this investigation was conducted by a joint investigation group composed of specialized agencies, including the NKMND and the Ministry of State Security, which completely disassembled the flight control module of the UAV wreckage and analyzed the flight plan and flight history data.
The spokesperson condemned the incident, labeling South Korean forces as “shameless provocateurs who continue to dodge accountability for this violation of our capital’s airspace.”
Furthermore, “If acts of sovereignty violation against our Republic recur due to blind faith in their supreme leader–who is sanctioning the most inferior and malicious rogue state of the Republic of Korea, and their extreme provocative practices–the source of anger and provocations will be permanently eradicated by our harsh, offensive actions.”
Earlier, North Korean media reported that they had discovered the wreckage of a UAV that had crashed in the quarters (housing 76 people) located at Seopo 1-dong, Hyeongje Mountain District.
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