Pyongyang shoots down a South Korean drone and warns Seoul of a heavy price

North Korea announced on Saturday that it had shot down a drone launched by South Korea over its territory in early January, warning that Seoul would “pay a heavy price” for this incursion.

A North Korean military spokesperson said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang had detected an aerial target “moving northward” near South Korea’s Ganghwa County and shot it down near the North Korean border city of Kaesong.

Ganghwa County, northwest of Seoul, is separated from North Korea by the Han River estuary, which is less than two kilometres wide in some places.

The military spokesperson said the drone was equipped with “surveillance devices”, noting that an analysis of its wreckage showed it had captured images of “important targets” inside North Korea, including border areas.

He added that these images “constitute conclusive evidence that the drone entered the airspace of the Republic with the purpose of monitoring and reconnoitring our territory”.

The Korean Central News Agency also accused South Korea of sending a similar drone over Kaesong in September, claiming that it crashed after being subjected to electronic jamming.

The North Korean military spokesperson said: “South Korea is the most aggressive enemy toward us. Its nature will not change, and it is a target that must be destroyed if it attacks us.” He warned: “Seoul will pay a heavy price for its hysterical and unforgivable behaviour”.

In South Korea, prosecutors are currently investigating allegations that former president Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the military to deploy drones over Pyongyang in late 2024, in an attempt to provoke a North Korean military response that could have justified Yoon’s declaration of martial law in South Korea.

Yoon was removed from office in April, and his successor, Lee Jae-myung, has pledged to ease tensions with North Korea.