North Korea said Saturday it would respond after accusing South Korea of sending drones across their shared border, warning that Seoul will face consequences for its "unpardonable hysteria."
South Korea quickly denied the accusation. But the development is likely to further dim prospects for efforts by South Korea's liberal government to restore ties with North Korea.
North Korean forces used special electronic warfare assets on Sunday to bring down a South Korean drone flying over North Korea's border town. The drone was equipped with two cameras that filmed unspecified areas, the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by state media.
South Korea infiltrated another drone into North Korean airspace on Sept. 27 before it was forced to crash following electronic strikes by North Korea, the statement said, adding that authorities found the drone also contained video data on major objects in North Korea.
"We strongly denounce the hooligans' serial outrageous encroachment upon our sovereignty and undisguised provocative acts against us," the North Korean statement said. "The ROK military warmongers will be surely forced to pay a dear price for their unpardonable hysteria."
The ROK is the abbreviated form of the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said it did not operate drones during the times specified by North Korea and doesn't even possess the types of drones that North Korea claimed were used.
Senior ministry official Kim Hong-Cheol said in a statement that authorities will investigate whether civilians flew the drones found in North Korea. He said South Korea has no intentions of provoking North Korea and will continue its efforts to build trust between the Koreas.
Since taking office in June, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has pushed hard to reopen talks with North Korea and reconcile the rivals. But North Korea has steadfastly rebuffed Lee's overtures.
Lee said Wednesday he asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to serve as a mediator to ease animosities between the two Koreas during their recent summit, and Xi called for patience.
North Korea has shunned talks with South Korea and the United States since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons and declared a hostile "two-state" system on the Korean Peninsula to terminate relations with South Korea.
Drone flights are a source of animosity between the two Koreas, with the rivals accusing each other of flying drones into their respective territories in recent years.
North Korea accused South Korea in October 2024 of flying drones over its capital, Pyongyang, to drop propaganda leaflets three times. South Korea's military said it couldn't confirm whether the North's claim was true.
Tensions rose sharply at the time as North Korea threatened to respond with force, but neither side took any major action and tensions gradually subsided.
South Korea also has accused North Korea of occasionally flying drones over South Korea. In December 2022, South Korea announced it fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance drones over North Korea in response to what it called North Korea's first drone flights across the border in five years.
