SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- The wreckage of a suspected North Korean drone was found on Monday near a sensitive inter-Korean maritime border in the Yellow Sea, the military said.
The wreckage was collected by a fisherman at around 2:20 p.m. while he was fishing in waters near the South Korean border island of Baengnyeong, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The military said it believes the remains belong to a small-size, unmanned aerial drone from North Korea because it looked similar to other North Korean drones found in border areas earlier this year.
Previously, three drones were found crashed in South Korea in March and April, with officials concluding that they were sent from the North for spying missions.
The North, however, has rejected the investigation result.
"All equipment such as an internal engine or a camera has been lost and only an empty fuselage remains with (the suspected drone's) wings damaged," said an official at the JCS. "Currently, it is hard to determine when or where this wreckage fell (on the waters)."
The military said it plans to analyze the wreckage to find out the timing and the place of its crash.
If the wreckage is found to be part of a North Korean drone, South Korea's military is likely to be under criticism over its lax supervision over its air defense zone.
In light of the border incursions by North Korea's spy aircraft, the South Korean military earlier vowed to beef up air security by acquiring low-altitude surveillance radars and other strike weapons.
The North is estimated to have about 300 spy drones, according to the defense ministry.
The two Koreas are technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, without signing a peace treaty.
- Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr
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