SEOUL: North Korea has accused Seoul of a “serious provocation” following the alleged discovery of a downed South Korean drone that it claims violated North Korea’s sovereignty by scattering anti-North Korean leaflets over Pyongyang, reported German news agency (dpa).
A renewed military violation of North Korean territory would be viewed as a “declaration of war” and would lead to an “immediate retaliatory attack”, state-controlled news agency KCNA reported on Saturday, citing a spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of National Defence.
Last week, North Korea claimed that Seoul had sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North Korean leaflets to Pyongyang three times in the space of a week. South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun said he could not confirm whether the North’s claims were true.
KCNA reported that North Korean authorities had discovered the remains of a crashed drone last week. “It is quite likely that the drone is the one which scattered leaflets over the centre of Pyongyang... but the conclusion has not yet been drawn,“ KCNA quoted a North Korean investigation team as saying.
The information from the internationally isolated and communist-led state, which is formally at war with South Korea, cannot be independently verified.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased significantly in recent weeks. North Korea’s military destroyed all road and rail links with South Korea earlier this week. Additionally, North Korea continues to conduct regular missile tests and advance its nuclear programme, a commitment that leader Kim Jong Un has maintained despite ongoing international sanctions against the country.
- Bernama, dpa
