[News Today] DRONE INCIDENT UNDER SPOTLIGHT

[LEAD]
Amid this political, or should I say national chaos, one of the allegations that was raised was that Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun reportedly aimed to provoke a localized conflict. The suspicion involves sending unmanned aerial vehicles to North Korea to trigger an incident, thereby laying the groundwork for martial law. Despite these claims, the military continues to deny any confirmation.

[REPORT]
In October, North Korea issued an emergency statement claiming that a South Korean drone infiltrated Pyongyang three times and scattered propaganda leaflets.

N. Korean Central TV (Oct. 12)/
The latest intrusion is a grave crime violating sovereignty and is clearly subject to self-defense rights.

Then defense minister Kim Yong-hyun initially denied the claim and then abruptly changed his stance.

Kim Yong-hyun / Then Defense Minister (Oct. 11)
Strategically, we cannot provide confirmation.

Since the martial law attempt, the opposition bloc has raised suspicion that Kim was behind the drone incident.

They suspect the drone was used to incite provocation so as to lay the groundwork for imposing martial law.

The military sticks to the stance that it cannot confirm the matter.

Seo Young-kyo / Democratic Party
Who sent the drone to Pyongyang?

Kim Seon-ho / Vice Defense Minister
I hope you understand that our position on those matters has always been that we cannot confirm.

The main opposition Democratic Party also raised speculation that leaflets disguised as those from civic groups were flown to North Korea, which again the military refuses to verify.

Boo Seung-chan / Democratic Party
Leaflets were scattered, right?

Yang Hyun-seung / Armed forces psychological corps commander
We can't confirm that for you.

It's a possibility that localized warfare can flare up at any time if Pyongyang wages a military protest by using drone flights or trash balloons as an excuse.

It seems ongoing investigations should look into whether the former defense minister ordered a strike or other moves in a bid to create a pretext for martial law imposition.