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According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army claimed on January 10 that North Korea had shot down South Korean drones allegedly infiltrated in September last year and again on January 4, warning that South Korea would pay a price for the incidents. The photo shows what North Korea claims to be a South Korean drone that crashed in Jangpung County, Kaesong City. Jan. 10, 2026.
(Pyongyang KCNA=Yonhap News) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Controversy is growing over North Korea’s claim of a “South Korean drone infiltration,” as both the individual who said he flew the drone and the person suspected of manufacturing it have been identified as civilians with prior work experience at the presidential office during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Military and police authorities are expanding their investigation, considering the possibility that the two acted in coordination.
According to Yonhap News on January 18, not only a man in his 30s, identified as B, who claimed to have sent drones into North Korea, but also another man in his 30s, identified as A, who is suspected of manufacturing the drone, previously worked at the presidential office under the former administration.
A reportedly served as a news monitoring officer in the presidential spokesperson’s office, and his tenure at the Yongsan presidential office is said to have significantly overlapped with that of B. A joint military–police investigative task force summoned A for questioning on January 16 and is treating him as the drone’s manufacturer.
A had previously been referred to prosecutors in November last year for violating the Aviation Security Act after flying an unregistered drone in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. The model used at that time is reported to be the same as the one involved in the current case. Authorities did not apply charges related to national security at the time, accepting A’s explanation that the drone was a prototype built in a laboratory for test flights.
A and B are alumni of the same private university in Seoul, where they have a senior–junior relationship. In 2024, they jointly founded a drone manufacturing startup with university support, serving respectively as CEO and director. They had also previously worked together in a youth organization related to Korean unification formed in 2020.
B maintains that A built the drone at his request but was not involved in its actual operation. In a January 16 interview with Channel A, B said A purchased the airframe from an online Chinese marketplace and conducted initial modifications, while he himself installed a camera and flew the drone toward North Korea.
B, a former head of a conservative-leaning youth group, is currently enrolled in a graduate school of journalism at a prestigious private university in Seoul and is reported to have submitted a recommendation letter from a senior official of the Yoon administration during the admissions process.
Some figures within the ruling political camp have raised suspicions that the incident may go beyond individual misconduct and could have been a planned act intended to provoke a military response from North Korea. Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is currently on trial over allegations that drones were sent into Pyongyang in October 2024 as part of an operation aimed at creating grounds for the declaration of martial law on December 3.
B, however, denies any hostile intent, claiming the drone operation was conducted to measure radiation and heavy metal contamination near a uranium facility along the Yesong River. He said the aim was to independently verify claims of radioactive wastewater flowing into the West Sea, which the government previously dismissed as unfounded.
Police said they are closely examining whether A and B conspired in advance, focusing on their motives, the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the possibility of any external involvement.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
