South Korea on Sunday announced it will investigate North Korea’s claim that it violated Pyongyang’s airspace with a drone but noted that it does not want to raise tensions between the two Koreas, according to reports.
South Korea’s Office for National Security said the government planned to review the latest drone incident with the military and police, and results would be reported immediately, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
“”The government once again confirms that it has no intention of provoking or irritating the North side,” the office said, according to the report.
Earlier, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, demanded a statement from Seoul, the North Korean state news agency KCNA reported.
If South Korea again chose provocation against Pyongyang in the future, “it will never be able to deal with the terrible consequences” that would follow, she said, according to KCNA.
Pyongyang had accused Seoul of violating North Korean sovereignty with a drone flight. A surveillance drone was said to have filmed key facilities in North Korea on January 4.
North Korea’s military shot down the drone within its own airspace, according to KCNA.
The claims cannot be independently verified.
North Korea also referred to a similar case in September last year. South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu Back denied army involvement in both cases.