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             South Korea: Evidence of Drones Points to North Korea

   by Daniel Schearf

   A South Korean investigation has pointed to North Korea as the likely
   culprit behind unmanned spy drones that recently violated its airspace.
   Analysts say the drones are a concern but do not pose as big a security
   threat as North Korea's nuclear program, which Pyongyang vowed to step
   up with a "new form" of test.

   South Korea's Ministry of Defense on Friday said three unmanned aerial
   vehicles (UAVs), or drones, found crashed in the country were almost
   certainly from North Korea.

   The ministry said that based on the size of the fuel tanks, flight
   speed and photos found on a drone camera, they could not be from China
   or Japan.

   The sky blue color of the drones is also very similar to the ones shown
   during a North Korean military parade and during leader Kim Jong Un's
   visit to a military unit. Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said
   they will share the evidence with the United States and other countries
   before making a final conclusion.

   He said that if the drones are identified as being from North Korea,
   then the South's military will strongly respond to Pyongyang as it is a
   grave, provocative action crossing into South Korean airspace.

   Wreckage from the three drones was found in recent weeks near the
   heavily-armed border dividing the two Koreas.

   It is not immediately clear what caused the spy vehicles to crash.

   The toy-airplane-like drones were ridiculed in South Korean media for
   their low-tech design. The photos captured were low resolution and the
   programmed drones were not capable of real-time control or transmitting
   images.

   Nonetheless, the drones were able to evade detection from South Korea's
   military and take photos of installations and Seoul's presidential
   compound.

   If upgraded, the drones could be used to launch targeted attacks, notes
   Daniel Pinkston, Deputy Northeast Asia Director with the International
   Crisis Group.

   "If these devices are configured in other ways, they could deliver
   biological weapons for example. Also if they became more sophisticated
   and could relay real-time data, they could be used for targeting
   purposes," said Pinkston.

   Nonetheless, North Korea's drone threat to South Korea is much less of
   a concern than its missile and nuclear programs.

   Pyongyang in late March promised a "new form" of nuclear test.

   Analysts say that could mean anything from multiple or deeper
   explosions to a more powerful device or one made of something other
   than plutonium.

   Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korean studies professor at Seoul's Dongguk
   University, said the possibility of North Korea engaging in a fourth
   nuclear test is not that high. Because the blow-back on North Korea
   would be serious, he said, to have a test would be a burden for North
   Korea. He thinks North Korea is playing its brinkmanship tactics with
   rhetoric.

   Pinkston disagrees, and said a fourth nuclear test is just a matter of
   timing.

   "They will consider the international situation including China, which
   is very important, and also the relationship with South Korea. But, at
   the end of the day, North Korean leadership will be driven by their
   principles, their objectives, and what they are trying to achieve,
   which is to become a full fledged nuclear weapons state," said
   Pinkston.

   South Korean officials promise "unimaginable consequences" if Pyongyang
   tests another nuclear device.

   Political analysts say that would likely mean a similar period of cold
   relations that followed previous tests as well as stepped-up economic
   sanctions.

   Seoul also plans to acquire low-altitude radar and precise weapons
   systems so they can track and destroy the North's spy drones.

   VOA Seoul Bureau Producer Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
     __________________________________________________________________

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   -to-north-korea/1891117.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-evidence-of-drones-points-to-north-korea/1891117.html