[Anchor]
It has been investigated that there were a total of four instances of civilian drones infiltrating North Korea since the Lee Jae-myung administration took office.
The government officially expressed regret to North Korea and decided to proactively pursue the restoration of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement, including establishing no-fly zones, to prevent recurrence.
Reporter Jo Ji-hyeon brings us the report.
[Report]
The joint military and police investigation confirmed that there were four instances of civilian drone infiltrations into North Korea.
Drones that crossed the ceasefire line twice in November last year all returned, while incidents from September of last year and January this year resulted in drones crashing in North Korea.
Minister Jeong Dong-young repeatedly expressed official regret to North Korea on behalf of the government.
He reaffirmed the proactive pursuit of restoring the September 19 military agreement to prevent the recurrence of such hostile acts.
[Jeong Dong-young / Minister of Unification: “The plan to announce [the restoration] at an appropriate time has been decided, and sufficient consultation and coordination have been conducted among relevant departments.”]
Once the no-fly zone under the September 19 military agreement is restored, reconnaissance aircraft and drone flights will be prohibited around the military demarcation line.
In addition to legal amendments to completely prohibit drone infiltrations, the level of punishment for flying drones in restricted airspace will be increased.
Minister Jeong also expressed official regret about drone infiltrations by the military during the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
[Jeong Dong-young / Minister of Unification: “As the Minister of Unification in Lee Jae-myung’s government, I express deep regret to the North regarding the drone infiltrations under Yoon Seok-yeol’s administration.”]
This sensitive military security issue was addressed by the Minister of Unification on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, possibly aiming to influence North Korea’s message to the South during its 9th Party Congress, while repeatedly emphasizing the intent for inter-Korean dialogue.
However, there are concerns that establishing a no-fly zone unilaterally might weaken our capability for surveillance and reconnaissance operations against North Korea using drones.
This is KBS News, Jo Ji-hyeon.
Videographer: Lee Sang-won / Video Editing: Lee Jin-yi / Graphics: Kim Ji-hye, Park Mi-joo
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