Investigation examines covert drone plans targeting Pyongyang

The special counsel investigating former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s alleged conspiracy to commit insurrection and treason is examining claims that key members of South Korea’s military drone command formed a covert planning group last June to carry out drone operations targeting Pyongyang.

According to sources on July 22, the team, including Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae, began discussing a mission involving unmanned aerial vehicles aimed at North Korea’s capital. The special counsel is reportedly not ruling out the possibility that the drone unit’s planning group submitted detailed plans to the Joint Chiefs of Staff just a month or two before the operation.

The Dong-A Ilbo has learned that the group, operating as a task force, discussed key aspects such as timing, objectives, and the expected impact of flying drones over Pyongyang. A small number of personnel with essential roles were discreetly selected to participate in the mission.

Participants told investigators they were informed at the group’s first meeting that drones would be sent to Pyongyang and that the directive came from “V,” understood to refer to former President Yoon. Rep. Boo Seung-chan of the Democratic Party previously said he received tips that Yoon bypassed the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issuing direct orders to the drone unit through the National Security Office.

The special counsel suspects the planning group may have been involved in drone missions conducted on October 3 and 8 last year but was excluded from a subsequent mission in November. On October 11, North Korea announced that South Korea had sent drones and released photos of a downed aircraft eight days later. As suspicions grew that South Korea had launched drones toward Pyongyang, some speculate that drone command limited the number of personnel involved to reduce risk and maintain secrecy.

Investigators are also probing whether drone command only reported detailed plans to the Joint Chiefs of Staff after then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun took office on September 6, about a month before the missions. The special counsel is reviewing a memo written by a unit member in June that reads “V, JCS MND X.” The note references the president (“V”), the Joint Chiefs of Staff (“JCS”), and the Ministry of National Defense (“MND”), with Xs next to the latter two, suggesting they were bypassed.

The special counsel reportedly also obtained testimony indicating that in mid-September, Minister Kim was briefed on the drone operation by Commander Kim Yong-dae and JCS Operations Director Lee Seung-oh.


고도예 yea@donga.com