One more suspected DPRK drone discovered in ROK

SEOUL - One more drone suspected of coming from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was discovered on a mountain in Republic of Korea's(ROK) northeastern region, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Sunday.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told an emergency press briefing that ROK's soldiers detected the crashed drone at around 11:40 am Sunday local time in Samcheok, around 290 km east of Seoul and about 130 km south of the military demarcation line between the two Koreas.

One ROK's resident informed the military Thursday afternoon that he and other witnesses saw the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) last October, saying that it was similar to the one in shape and size that had been spotted on March 24 in Paju, the western town close to the land border.

Photos of the UAV, found in Paju, were shown by local broadcasters. Both UAVs had triangular wings and a rectangular hole, within which a small camera was carried.

After receiving the report, the military began its search operations Sunday morning along with the witnesses after evaluating the authenticity of the witnesses' testimony, said Kim.

The spokesman said the military will make a thorough investigation into the fallen drone with a view that it came from the DPRK, noting interim investigation results will be announced at an earliest possible date.

ROK's Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin will hold a meeting of major commanding officers Monday to set up measures to enhance its air defense against possible DPRK attacks with pilotless airplanes.

Minister Kim said Friday during the parliamentary interpellation session that spy drones, believed to be sent from the DPRK, will possibly develop into those that can conduct suicide-bombing operations if Pyongyang gets to obtain technology related to control systems.

On March 31 when the two Koreas exchanged artillery fire, another UAV, which ROK suspected of coming from the DPRK, was found on the Baengnyeong Island just south of the disputed western sea border.

The two UAVs, spotted on Baengnyeong Island and in Paju, carried cameras, which took aerial photos of military installations and even the presidential office Blue House.

The top ROK's military official said that its military was unable to detect such small DPRK drones by radar, expressing his repentance over the military's negligence to spot the UAVs.

Several DPRK UAVs reportedly flew over ROK's airspace without being recognized. Some were detected by the naked eye in frontline areas, but they were depicted as birds on the radar screen due to their small size.

The ROK's Army was operating the low-altitude surveillance radars called TPS-830K, but it rarely detected the small, unmanned aircrafts. It will acquire and deploy, with urgency, radars which can detect the small UAVs flying at a low altitude.