South Korean authorities have launched an investigation focusing on the possibility of civilians flying drones that North Korea says violated its airspace, the Defense Ministry said on Monday.
North Korea's military on Saturday accused South Korea of "provocative actions" by sending a drone, saying it had shot down the plane and revealed what it called parts of the drone and aerial photos it had taken.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military said they did not operate the model of drone in question or operate any drone on the date that North Korea mentioned as the date of the intrusion. They said they had no intention of provoking North Korea.
South Korea is willing to conduct joint investigations with North Korea but has not submitted such a proposal, a Defense Ministry spokesman said, quoting Minister Ahn Gyu-back, Reuters reported from Al Arabiya (12/1).
Previously, President Lee Jae-myung had promised a swift investigation and said on Saturday that if civilians had indeed operated the drone, it would be a "serious crime" that threatened South Korea's security and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has not responded to previous attempts by the Lee administration to initiate dialogue.
It is known that tensions often increase between South Korea and its nuclear-armed neighbor.
Separately, former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol went on trial on Monday on charges of trying to provoke North Korea in 2024 as an excuse to declare a state of military emergency at the end of that year.
He is also facing a separate trial on rebellion charges related to the military's emergency rule.
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