South Korea's Lee calls for improved drone detection to avoid provoking North Korea

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday that there appeared to be a loophole ‌in his country's monitoring system to detect drones operated by civilians flying into North Korea, warning that such incidents risked inflaming ⁠tensions.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday that there appeared to be a loophole ‌in his country's monitoring system to detect drones operated by civilians flying into North Korea, warning that such incidents risked inflaming ⁠tensions. North Korea said earlier this month that a drone from South Korea was flown into its airspace recently, showing photographs of debris and aerial pictures of buildings that ​it alleged the drone had taken.

A South Korean task force investigating the incident ‍has called in a civilian suspect for questioning, police said. "It should not happen for a civilian to send a drone to North Korea for an illegal purpose," Lee told a televised cabinet ⁠meeting. "How did ‌we fail to ⁠check that a drone had been flown to the North?"

Lee said such action was "akin to starting ‍a war" and created unnecessary tension with North Korea that could have a negative impact on ​the South Korean economy. He called for a thorough investigation and to ⁠ensure it never happened again. Lee said that while a probe was ongoing if a South Korean citizen ⁠was found to have flown the drone they could be criminally charged for provoking Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong ⁠Un, last week urged Seoul to investigate the incident, warning that any provocations could ⁠result in ‌terrible situations. Lee's administration has been seeking to improve ties with Pyongyang since he took office last year, but so far its overtures ⁠have been rebuffed by the North.

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