Pyongyang says it has recovered remains of South Korean drone

seoul, southbound korea — 

North Korea claimed Saturday it had discovered the remains of astatine slightest 1 crashed South Korean subject drone successful the superior Pyongyang, releasing images of the instrumentality that immoderate analysts confirmed was South Korean.

The nuclear-armed North precocious accused Seoul of utilizing drones to driblet anti-regime propaganda leaflets connected the capital.

Pyongyang's defence ministry spokesperson said information authorities recovered the remains of a crashed drone during a hunt of the North Korean superior connected October 13, the authoritative KCNA quality bureau reported.

The North's probe "scientifically proved that the drone came from the ROK," the unnamed spokesperson said, utilizing South Korea's authoritative acronym.

South Korea's subject initially denied sending drones but has subsequently declined to comment.

"There is nary worth successful verifying oregon responding to North Korea's unilateral claims," it said successful a little connection Saturday.

North Korea has antecedently warned it would see it "a declaration of war" if different drone was detected.

The North Korean authoritative claimed the drone was of the aforesaid benignant arsenic a vehicle-mounted drone publically displayed by the South Korean subject during an Armed Forces Day lawsuit successful Seoul connected October 1 past year.

KCNA released respective images of what it claimed was the recovered drone, including 1 showing it lodged successful a histrion and others featuring North Koreans who appeared to beryllium officials.

Hong Min, a elder expert astatine the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that based connected the images released by the North, the drone was "clearly a long-range reconnaissance tiny drone utilized by ... the South Korean military."

"It is the aforesaid exemplary that our subject showcased during the Armed Forces Day lawsuit past year," helium told AFP.

North 'sending troops to Russia'

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies successful Seoul, said if the North's allegations are true, it could mean the South "had been conducting reconnaissance (in the North) with subject drones."

But the North Korean authoritative appeared to somewhat amend Pyongyang's erstwhile assertion that the South utilized the drones to driblet propaganda leaflets implicit the North Korean capital.

"It is rather apt that the drone is the 1 which scattered leaflets implicit the halfway of Pyongyang Municipality," helium said, but added: "But the decision has not yet been drawn."

Relations betwixt the 2 sides person deteriorated since North Korean person Kim Jong Un successful January defined Seoul arsenic his country's "principal enemy" and said the North was nary longer funny successful reunification.

The latest developments came a time aft South Korea's spy bureau said Pyongyang had decided to nonstop a "large-scale" unit deployment to enactment Moscow's warfare successful Ukraine, with 1,500 peculiar forces already successful Russia's Far East and undergoing training.

"North Korea is presently sending elite troops to Russia and providing weapons," expert Hong said, noting that Pyongyang present needs to amended negociate its interior subject resources aft diverting peculiar forces and instrumentality to assistance Moscow.

"So this seems to beryllium a effect that emphasizes preventing a recurrence alternatively than escalating tensions with South Korea," helium added.

Pyongyang has itself sent drones southwards -- successful 2022, 5 North Korean drones crossed the border, prompting the South Korean subject to occurrence informing shots and deploy combatant jets.

The jets failed to sprout down immoderate of the drones.