Military Changes Stance... North Korean Drone Enters No-Fly Zone

Overlap with Flight Path in Seoul No-Fly Zone P-73

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 26th of last month, a drone that violated Seoul airspace flew across the Seoul no-fly zone (P-73), raising the possibility that it filmed the Yongsan Presidential Office.

On the 5th, a military official stated, "It is known that the drone that infiltrated Seoul airspace flew across the Seoul no-fly zone (P-73), and this matter was also reported to President Yoon Seok-yeol the day before."

P-73 is a zone set at an altitude of about 3.7 km (2 nautical miles) radius around the Presidential Office. Initially, P-73 was established centered on the Blue House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, but it was reset last May when the presidential office moved to Yongsan.

At a regular briefing on the 29th of last month, the Joint Chiefs of Staff expressed "strong regret over baseless claims" regarding the North Korean drone's P-73 intrusion. The Joint Chiefs also indicated in their report to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly the previous day that the North Korean drone's route did not enter Yongsan-gu, which is within their jurisdiction. However, during an investigation by the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Combat Readiness Inspection Office conducted immediately after the incident, it was confirmed that the North Korean drone flew across the P-73 zone, which is centered on the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense building.

The drone that violated Seoul airspace was detected by a small drone detection radar (SSR) deployed by the Capital Defense Command. However, this radar did not track the drone's entire route at the time and only detected certain segments.

Some point out that the drone's route is similar to that of a drone found in Paju seven years ago, criticizing that the military failed to establish proper countermeasures. The drone that crashed in Paju at that time took pictures of areas including Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, around Jichuk Station, Eunpyeong New Town, and apartment complexes in Samsong-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang City. According to the released photos, the images of the Gyeongbokgung Palace area, including the Blue House, are notably clearer than those of other regions.

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