Kim Byung-joo, “NK Drone Seems to Have Come All the Way to Namsan... Likely to Have Passed the No-Fly Zone”

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup answers questions from the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly on December 28. Kim Chang-gil

On December 29, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Byung-joo said, “It appears the North Korean drone came all the way to Namsan Mountain,” and claimed it was likely the drone passed through the no-fly zone.

In an interview on Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show on CBS radio Thursday, Kim, a former deputy commander (Army general) of the R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command, spoke on the military’s explanation that the North Korean drone did not reach the Office of the President in Yongsan and said, “You shouldn’t look at this from the perspective of whether or not it came to Yongsan. If the drone entered the no-fly zone, then the guard operation has failed.”

Kim continued and said, “I looked at the flight path reported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday, and it looks like the drone came all the way to Eunpyeong-gu, Jongno, Dongdaemun-gu, Gwangjin-gu and Namsan Mountain.” He explained, “A no-fly zone is designated in an area within a 3.7-kilometer radius from Yongsan (where the presidential office is located). It is very likely that the drone passed through this zone. We need to accurately check if it (drone) entered the no-fly zone.”

The Democratic Party lawmaker further said, “The no-fly zone includes parts of the Han River and Seocho-gu in Gangnam as well,” and said that he tried to ask related questions in the parliamentary National Defense Committee the previous day but could not because there was not enough time.

Kim said, “Cheongwadae was equipped with multiple radars and electromagnetic wave jammers exclusively for drones.” He continued and said, “Related emplacements were moved to Yongsan. But with the exception of one or two places, the rest are all in low-lying areas where the military base is. The locations are all wrong and I think the connection with the Capital Defense Command was also faulty.”