On Friday, North Korea threatened a "terrible response" if South Korea carried out any new intrusion of its airspace with drones, according to what was reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Published on: 02/13/2026 - 05:40 Last updated: 02/13/2026 - 07:39
North Korean authorities warned of a "terrible response" if South Korean drones repeatedly incurded into their airspace, following raids carried out by investigators in Seoul on intelligence headquarters in search of those responsible for the downing of a drone near Kaesong.
On Friday, North Korea threatened a "terrible response" if South Korea carried out any new drone penetration of its airspace, according to what was reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The warning came after raids carried out by South Korean investigators on intelligence headquarters, as part of an attempt to determine who was responsible for the January incident in which Pyongyang said it shot down a South Korean march near the industrial city of Kaesong.
In a statement published by the official agency, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, stressed that she “gives advance warning that the repetition of such a provocation that violates the established sovereignty of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will inevitably be met with a terrible reaction.”
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Although she acknowledged that Seoul had taken measures it considered "reasonable" after the march incident, Kim stressed that violating the North's sovereignty remains unacceptable in any case.
Kim also explained that Pyongyang does not care about the identity of the party behind the drone infiltrations into its airspace, whether it is an individual or a civilian organization.
This issue caused an increase in the level of tension between the two sides, and threatened to undermine Seoul's efforts to restore relations with Pyongyang.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung adopted an approach based on improving relations with the North, pledging to stop the practices of his predecessor related to launching drones towards North Korean territory.
After initially denying any official involvement, while suggesting that civilians might be behind the incident, Seoul announced earlier this week the opening of an investigation into three active-duty soldiers and an intelligence service employee in an effort to "uncover the whole truth."
These investigations resulted in a raid on 18 locations on Tuesday, including the headquarters of two intelligence agencies.
At the conclusion of her statement, Kim indicated that similar incidents would not be met with leniency, and urged the South Korean authorities to "take preventive measures so that such a foolish act is not repeated again within their country."
France 24/AFP
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