JCS again denies North Korean drone infiltrated no fly zone around presidential office

There have been local news reports citing a military official as saying one of the North Korean drones did breach the P73 no fly zone above Yongsan and that the military had reported this to President Yoon Suk Yeol.

A North Korean drone found in 2017. [YONHAP]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) again denied reports that one of the five North Korean drones that entered South Korean airspace last month infiltrated the no fly zone surrounding the building where the president’s office is located in Yongsan.

“Reports of the enemy unmanned aerial vehicle passing above Yongsan are not true,” said Lee Sung-jun, JCS spokesman on Thursday.

However, the spokesman did not specify the details on whether the P73 no fly zone in the Seoul Metropolitan Area under the Aviation Safety Act had been infiltrated.

The JSC spokesman stressed that the military was not trying to cover up anything and it is doing its best to inform the public.

The Chosun Ilbo on Thursday cited a military official as saying one of the drones did breach the P73 no fly zone above Yongsan and that the military had reported this to President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The South Korean military acknowledged that one of the drones entered Seoul’s airspace, but say it only hovered in the northern part of the capital around Eunpyeong and Gangbuk districts and not the center of the city

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]