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In October of 2024, North Korea released images of a drone it said had crashed in Pyongyang, claiming that it was of the same model used by the South Korean military. (KCNA/Yonhap)

Democratic lawmaker and retired four-star general Kim Byung-joo revealed Monday that he had received evidence suggesting the recently ousted Yoon Suk-yeol administration began using drones in an attempt to encourage provocations from North Korea in February 2024.

It was also revealed that the Drone Operations Command (DOC) sent a total of seven drones to North Korea over three missions between October and November of last year.

“According to information that I received, the DOC used a 3D printer to produce canisters to drop leaflets and attached them to drones,” Kim said during a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly on Monday.

“This project began as a competition in February 2024 for ‘combat development,’ with drone modifications initiated in June and test flights conducted beginning in July,” he further quoted his sources as saying.

Kim also said that the canisters were designed to carry up to 600 leaflets, with a system in place where a ring securing the canister would be released to distribute the leaflets once the “target coordinates” had been reached.

“Basically, this means the use of drones to encourage external aggression began in February of last year,” he concluded.

In an interview the same day on an MBC radio program, Kim said he had “received tips from several DOC officials.”

The flight path of the drones that were sent into Pyongyang on Oct. 3, 8 and 9, 2024. The map on the left shows the path according to the whistleblower, while the map on the right shows the path according to North Korea. (courtesy of the office of Kim Byung-joo)

“The DOC sent drones to North Korea from Baengnyeong Island on three occasions, on Oct. 3, Oct. 8-9, and Nov. 13 of last year,” he quoted them as saying.

In particular, he alleged that two drones on Oct. 3 and four on Oct. 8 were sent with target coordinates around Residence No. 15 in Pyongyang, which is reported to be the official residence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. One of the drones sent on Oct. 8 failed to return, he added.

The lawmaker reported that on Nov. 3, a drone was sent to Nampo, a key military location in North Korea that houses a naval base, combat airfield and radar base.

“Having not gotten any response by pointing a gun at the enemy’s heart [on Oct. 3 and 8], they got an immediate one by pointing a knife at their throat [on Nov. 13],” he said.

“My years of military experience tell me that something like this involving flying [drones] to North Korea and dropping leaflets could not have been done without a determination by the president,” he argued.

By Ki Min-do, staff reporter

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