South Korea allegedly carries out drone operations above Pyongyang, as claimed by North Korea.
South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff didn't validate or invalidate the allegations but advised North Korea against acting impulsively and stated, "All liability for the recent sequence of events is on North Korea's shoulders," referring to the continuous dispatch of garbage-filled balloons by Pyongyang towards the South.
On a Friday evening, North Korea's foreign ministry declared that South Korea, labeled as "the most hostile, malicious, and renegade state," had conducted a serious political and military provocation by infiltrating drones into Pyongyang and scattering "anti-North Korea propaganda" leaflets on three separate occasions within a week, as per state media reports.
The ministry issued a warning, stating that South Korea would "face a dreadful circumstance" if it persisted with provocations, further adding to the report.
North Korea's state-owned KCNA broadcasted images of what it claimed to be a drone along with pictures of leaflets that read "a comparison of the food available," and "North Korea's economic situation plummeting into hell."
CNN cannot verify the presence of drones in North Korea's airspace.
For years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have launched balloons towards the North loaded with criticism against leader Kim Jong Un, as well as USB sticks containing K-pop songs and South Korean television shows – all illicit in the impoverished and extremely isolated nation. Some activists have also fitted GPS trackers to so-called "smart balloons" capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers.
In 2020, South Korea enacted a law outlawing the dispatch of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the border, as the previous liberal government in Seoul advocated for reconciliation with Pyongyang.
However, several campaigners defied the decree before it was nullified by a court last year, which deemed the law an unreasonable restriction of free speech, responding to a complaint filed by North Korean defector-activists in the South.
Subsequently, North Korean authorities have released more than 1,000 balloons filled with trash, waste, and worms towards the South since May, escalating tensions as Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader, warned of "trouble" ahead.
In 2022, North Korea released five drones into South Korea, with four drones circling Ganghwa island and another drone breaching Seoul's northern airspace.
The global community expresses concern over the escalating tensions between North and South Korea, with the world watching closely. The Asia region, in particular, is closely monitoring the situation due to its geopolitical significance.
