Task force identifies, questions civilian suspect regarding drones that North claims are from South
Published: 17 Jan. 2026, 21:33
![People watch a news broadcast of North Korea's announcement, which claims a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle had infiltrated its airspace, in the waiting room of Seoul Station at Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 11. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/17/023178d2-c655-4a6b-bf88-f36f7e8c6f4f.jpg)
People watch a news broadcast of North Korea's announcement, which claims a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle had infiltrated its airspace, in the waiting room of Seoul Station at Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Jan. 11. [YONHAP]
A joint military-police investigation task force has identified and is questioning a civilian suspect in relation to North Korea's claim that a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) infiltrated its airspace, the National Office of Investigation (NOI) said on Friday.
“The joint military-police task force has summoned one civilian suspect for questioning regarding the matter,” said the NOI, an organization under the Korean National Police Agency, in a press release.
This indicates that authorities have identified a civilian believed to have flown the UAV that North Korea claims intruded into its territory.
Police declined to reveal details about the suspect's identity or the location of the investigation.
On Monday, the police announced the formation of a joint task force within the NOI, headed by the director of the Security Investigation Bureau, to investigate the alleged drone incursion.
The investigation began after a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army claimed in a statement on Saturday that North Korea had shot down South Korean UAVs that had infiltrated its territory on two occasions — in September 2025 and again on Jan. 4 this year.
President Lee Jae Myung said that the allegations, if true, are “a grave crime that threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and national security” and ordered the joint task force investigation.
The Ministry of National Defense previously stated that the UAVs mentioned by North Korea were not military equipment and that the South Korean military does not possess such drones.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY MOON SANG-HYEOK [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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