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Unidentified drone found in South Korea

April 1, 2014

Unmanned aerial vehicle crashes on western border island

This is the second time in a week that a UAV has crashed in South Korea. The two UAVs have similar air frames.(Yonhap)

By Kang Seung-woo

An unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed Monday on one of the five western border islands, the military said Tuesday.

“An unidentified drone fell on Baengnyeong Island at 4 p.m., Monday,” said a government official. However, its origin and purpose were not disclosed.

“The military authorities and intelligence agency are jointly examining the UAV to see if there is any connection to North Korean espionage operations,” the official said.

This is the second time in a week that a UAV has crashed here.

The other drone crashed in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, south of the demilitarized zone, on March 24 after filming Cheong Wa Dae, Gyeongbok Palace and other places in Seoul. Korea forbids aircraft to fly over the presidential office.

The two UAVs have similar air frames.

Another government official said that the Paju drone had a Japanese engine and Chinese components, and was equipped with a small camera.

“As an in-depth examination is currently under way, we cannot confirm which country made this drone. But there is a possibility that it belongs to North Korea,” the official said.

On Monday, South and North Korea exchanged salvos of more than 800 artillery rounds — some 500 from the North and about 300 from the South — across the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime border between the two countries.

Given that the majority of shells from the North landed near Baengnyeong Island, it may have dispatched the drone on a reconnaissance mission.

In August 2010, the North fired about 110 artillery shells near the NLL and flew a reconnaissance UAV near the border islands later on the same day.

The North allegedly developed drones based on China’s D-4 and deployed them with border units.

The 3.2 meter-long fixed-wing UAV can fly at an altitude of 3 kilometers with a maximum speed of 162 kilometers per hour, and is capable of conducting missions within a 4-kilometer radius. It can carry a 20 to 25 kilogram payload and lands using a parachute.