(2nd LD) S. Korean defense minister denies N. Korea's drone infiltration claims

(2nd LD) defense chief-N Korea

(2nd LD) S. Korean defense minister denies N. Korea's drone infiltration claims

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with defense chief's comments, background)

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense chief on Saturday denied North Korea's claims that its drones infiltrated into the North in September last year and earlier this week, saying the drones in question were not models operated by the South Korean military.

North Korea claimed earlier in the day that South Korea infringed on its sovereignty with drone incursions, saying that Seoul should be ready to "pay a high price" for what it called a provocation.

In response to an inquiry by Yonhap News Agency, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the North's alleged claims were "absolutely not true," noting the photos of the drones released by the North were not of models owned by the South Korean military.

"How could that be possible when the nightmare of martial law still feels like it was just yesterday?" Ahn said, adding the drone operation command, the Army's ground operations command and the Marine Corps headquarters had not conducted flight operations on the dates claimed by North Korea.

Ahn also suggested the matter could be jointly investigated by South and North Korea.

In a statement issued by the spokesperson of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, North Korea claimed South Korea's drones had infiltrated into the North on two occasions, while denouncing Seoul as "the most hostile" enemy.

On Jan. 4, North Korea's military captured and tracked an air target moving northward from the sky over South Korea's Ganghwa County, Incheon, and struck the drone with special electronic warfare assets, forcing it to fall in Muksan-ri near the North's border city of Kaesong, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

It also claimed that on Sept. 27, a drone, which took off from the South's border city of Paju, fell into Jangphung County, Kaesong, after being struck down by the North's electronic means. The drone was returning after infiltrating the sky above Phyongsan County, North Hwanghae Province.

The defense ministry said President Lee Jae Myung had ordered a "thorough" investigation into the matter, with relevant agencies verifying the details of the case.

"It has been confirmed that the South Korean military had not operated any drones on the dates claimed by North Korea," the ministry said in a notice.

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