By Alemat Aliyeva

North Korea on Saturday accused South Korea of violating its
sovereignty through drone incursions in September last year and
earlier this week, warning that Seoul should be prepared to “pay a
high price” for what it described as a serious provocation.

South Korea’s defence ministry rejected the accusation, saying
its military did not operate drones on the dates cited by
Pyongyang.

In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean
People’s Army described South Korea as “the most hostile enemy” and
accused it of pursuing provocative actions while publicly calling
for dialogue.

“The Republic of Korea should be ready to pay a high price for
having committed another provocation of infringing on the
sovereignty of the DPRK with a drone,” the spokesperson said,
referring to South Korea and North Korea by their official
names.

According to the statement, North Korean forces on 4 January
detected and tracked an aerial target moving northward from the
skies above Ganghwa County, near Incheon, before striking it with
electronic warfare systems. The drone was forced to crash in
Muksan-ri, close to the border city of Kaesong, KCNA reported.

Pyongyang also alleged that a similar incident occurred on 27
September, when a drone that had taken off from Paju, a South
Korean border city, fell in Jangphung County near Kaesong after
being disabled by North Korean electronic countermeasures. The
drone had allegedly infiltrated airspace over Phyongsan County in
North Hwanghae Province before turning back, the report said.

The North claimed that the drone downed earlier this week was
equipped with surveillance devices and was designed to conduct
reconnaissance over a distance of around 156 kilometres during a
flight lasting more than three hours.

KCNA released photographs said to show drone debris, recording
equipment and images allegedly captured by the unmanned aircraft.
The report likened South Korea to “a perfect copy of Kiev’s
lunatics”, drawing a comparison with Ukraine’s war against
Russia.

Pyongyang further alleged that the drones had passed through
areas where South Korean radar and anti-drone systems are deployed,
insisting that the South Korean military was directly responsible
for the incursions.

Tensions between the two Koreas have remained high in recent
months, with both sides trading accusations of military provocation
amid a prolonged breakdown in dialogue.