The United Nations’ aviation body has rejected North Korea’s request for an investigation into its claim that a South Korean drone violated airspace over Pyongyang last year.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) did not accept the request during a meeting on April 1, according to a South Korean foreign ministry official. The official confirmed to NK News on Friday that the ICAO had unanimously decided no action was needed regarding North Korea’s allegations.
North Korea claimed that a South Korean unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew over Pyongyang several times in October 2022, releasing anti-regime leaflets. Pyongyang called the incident a “grave infringement on the country’s sovereignty” and warned it would retaliate if a drone entered its airspace again.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korea’s military had found flight logs from a downed drone, which allegedly showed the drone came from Baengnyeong Island, located off South Korea’s northern coast.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to comment on the claims, stating that there was no value in addressing them. In response, South Korea filed a formal request with the ICAO to investigate the alleged airspace violation.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Command confirmed it was looking into the allegations but has not announced the results of its investigation. Experts have noted that such an incident could violate the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
The ICAO, a U.N. agency, was established under the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which both South Korea and North Korea are members of. The agency previously warned North Korea in 2022 for jamming GPS signals near the inter-Korean border, endangering civilian aircraft.
In a rare move, the ICAO publicly named North Korea as the source of these GPS disruptions, a shift from previous instances in 2012 and 2016 when the agency did not explicitly identify the country.
North Korea has also faced accusations of repeatedly flying drones into South Korean airspace. The most recent incident occurred in December 2022, when five North Korean drones crossed the Military Demarcation Line. One of the drones reportedly flew over Seoul and entered a restricted no-fly zone near the presidential office.
In response, South Korea sent its own UAVs to intercept the North Korean drones, but they were unable to prevent the incursions. South Korea has since focused on developing a more advanced anti-drone defense system.
The U.N. Command later concluded that both North and South Korea had violated the Armistice Agreement due to the drone incidents.
