"Crashed drone"

North Korea threatens “immediate retaliation”

North Korean state media disseminated this image of the suspected South Korean drone.(Bild: APA/AP)

The North Korean regime has repeatedly complained about "airspace violations" by South Korean drones. The wreckage of a crashed aircraft is now said to have been recovered. Pyongyang is threatening South Korea with an "immediate retaliatory attack" in the event of "further provocation".

"It is very likely that it is the drone that dropped leaflets over the center of the city of Pyongyang," the KCNA news agency quoted a North Korean investigation group as saying. However, this has not yet been conclusively clarified. The information from the internationally largely isolated and communist-led state, which is formally at war with South Korea, cannot be independently verified.

The sabre-rattling of ruler Kim Jong and his regime is getting louder and louder.(Bild: APA/AFP/KCNA VIA KNS/STR)

According to North Korean reports, drones carrying propaganda leaflets were flown from South Korea to Pyongyang three times in October. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun replied that he could "not confirm" this.

North Korea apparently cuts all ties
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have recently increased significantly. Last week, North Korea's military blew up all road and rail links to the neighboring country, while the South has also reported that North Korea's leadership has laid tens of thousands of landmines along the border area in recent months.

According to reports, South Korea is "clearly defined as a hostile state" in the country's revised constitution. Formally speaking, the two countries are still in a state of war, as the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty.