Overview
- Police and military investigators executed search-and-seizure warrants at the homes and offices of three civilian suspects and took materials from a university lab and a drone startup.
- An accused graduate student surnamed Oh has said he flew drones into the North multiple times since September to measure radiation near the Pyongsan uranium facility.
- President Lee Jae Myung called the flights tantamount to starting a war, ordered a thorough probe with stern penalties, and pressed the defense minister over detection failures.
- The Defense Ministry says the drones were not military assets, while prosecutors are considering serious offenses under statutes that include “private war” and treason-related charges.
- Reports of possible Korea Defence Intelligence Command support and links to figures from the former administration are being examined but remain unconfirmed as North Korea circulates debris and aerial images from an alleged Jan. 4 incursion.