Special prosecutor probes North Korea drone plan

The Special Prosecutor on Internal Affairs, Cho Eun-seok, has obtained evidence suggesting that the Drone Operations Command and the Defense Intelligence Command have been simulating a “Pyongyang drone infiltration operation” since last summer. The units reportedly inquired at the Agency for Defense Development about the feasibility of attaching leaflets to drones, prompting an expansion of the investigation.

On Aug. 17, legal sources said the special prosecutor obtained a statement from an official at the Agency for Defense Development, who said, “Last summer, the Defense Intelligence Command inquired about whether leaflets could be attached to drones, and around the same time, the Drone Operations Command made a similar inquiry.” The official reportedly told the special prosecutor that the agency had responded to the Defense Intelligence Command, calling the idea “absurd,” and gave a similar response to the Drone Operations Command.

The timing of the inquiries reportedly coincided with the period when the Drone Operations Command was preparing a “V (President) Report” for the presidential office on the Pyongyang drone infiltration operation from the planning stage. The special prosecutor believes the Drone Operations Command formed a planning team in June last year to launch drones toward North Korea, drafted the V Report in July, and directly briefed former President Yoon Suk-yeol in August. The Agency for Defense Development was not involved in building the drones, and the Drone Operations Command reportedly used its own internal unit to attach the leaflets.

The special prosecutor is reportedly investigating whether it was unusual for the Defense Intelligence Command to inquire about attaching leaflets to drones and whether the Drone Operations Command and the Defense Intelligence Command exchanged information to fly drones for so-called “North Korea influence operations.” The Agency for Defense Development is responsible for drone development. Attaching leaflets to drones and dropping what is known as “anti-North leaflets” could provoke the North Korean government and potentially trigger a hostile response.

Earlier, the special prosecutor reportedly uncovered evidence that the Defense Intelligence Command sent two agents to Mongolia in late November last year, just before the declaration of martial law, in an attempt to conduct operations involving the North Korean embassy there, and is investigating their involvement in foreign exchange-related activities. On July 25, the special prosecutor visited the Defense Intelligence Command in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, to question whether the agency had contact with North Korea at the time with the intent to provoke armed provocations.

Meanwhile, former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who faces additional charges including “obstruction of arrest” and is about to begin trial, requested that the first pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 19 be postponed. His legal team asked the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 35, presided over by Chief Judge Baek Dae-hyun, citing the need for more time to prepare for the trial.


최미송 기자 cms@donga.com