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North Korea tracks crashed propaganda drone to remote South Korean border island

A state media graphic showed a flight route of the drone crossing the sea west of the Korean peninsula before crash landing in Pyongyang

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An undated picture released from North Korean state media on October 19 shows what is claimed to be a recovered South Korean drone. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP
North Korean state media said on Monday that an investigation had “proved” South Korea’s military sent a drone over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets, calling it an infringement of sovereignty.
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The nuclear-armed North has accused Seoul of sending unmanned aerial vehicles into its airspace three times, which South Korea’s military has denied.

North Korea’s ministry of defence dismantled the control module from the remains of a crashed “enemy drone” and analysed the flight plan and log, state media reported.

The analysis “proved that the drone of the ROK military gangsters … intruded into the capital city of the DPRK”, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, referring to both countries by the acronyms of their official names.

A graphic published by KCNA showed a flight route of the drone starting from South Korea’s Baengnyeong island and landing in Pyongyang after crossing the western sea of the Korean peninsula.

Baengnyeong is the westernmost border island in South Korea and closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.

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