North Korea Drone Flight Path Over Seoul Remains Identical to 5 Years Ago

Flight Passing Through Goyang-si, Eunpyeong, Seodaemun, and Seongbuk-gu

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It has been revealed that the North Korean drone that violated Seoul airspace flew the same route as it did five years ago. It is analyzed that the North Korean drone was confirming the infiltration route, including the air defense network near Seoul.

According to the military on the 29th, the drone that violated Seoul airspace on the 26th was detected by a small drone detection radar (SSR) deployed by the Capital Defense Command. However, this radar did not track the entire route of the drone at the time and only detected some sections.

According to photos reported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly the day before, the North Korean drone that invaded Seoul airspace is estimated not to have entered Yongsan-gu, which is within the jurisdiction. However, the military reports that it flew across the east-west direction of Seoul, passing through Goyang-si in Gyeonggi Province, as well as Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Seongbuk-gu, and Jungnang-gu.

This route is similar to the drone route discovered in Paju seven years ago. At that time, the drone that crashed in Paju took pictures of areas around Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, Jichuk Station area, Eunpyeong New Town, and apartment complexes in Samsong-dong, Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si. According to the released photos, the pictures of the Gyeongbokgung Palace area, including Cheongwadae, are clearer than those of other regions. In these photos, the Chunchugwan and Secretariat buildings of Cheongwadae, as well as the main building where the president’s office is located, are relatively clear.

In the photos of Eunpyeong New Town and Samsong-dong apartments, even cars can be identified, and the photos of the Gyeongbokgung Palace area are clear enough to identify people. The altitude at which the suspected North Korean drone took the photos is known to be 1 to 1.5 km, but it appears to have lowered its altitude near Cheongwadae to increase the clarity of the photos. The Paju crash drone took 2D photos using a Japanese-made Canon 550D DSLR camera.

Images provided by Google Earth, Naver, and Daum were taken several months to up to a year ago, but the photos taken by this drone provide almost real-time footage, which could be more advantageous for reconnaissance missions. Also, while satellite images available on the internet have military bases and Cheongwadae blurred out, the photos taken by the suspected North Korean drone reveal these locations clearly.

In particular, the photos of the area around Cheongwadae taken by the drone were evaluated to be clearer than the satellite images provided by internet portal companies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.