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| ▲ Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks during a meeting with the ministry's advisory panel on building peace on the Korean Peninsula on Jan. 15, 2026, in this photo provided by the unification ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
unification minister-drone incursion
S. Korea to swiftly address alleged drone incursion into N. Korea: minister
SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will swiftly address drone incursions into North Korea alleged by Pyongyang and continue efforts to ease tensions and build trust with the regime based on the outcome of a probe into the matter, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday.
Chung reaffirmed the stance during a meeting with the ministry's advisory panel on building peace on the Korean Peninsula, which comprises his predecessors and experts, including former Unification Ministers Jeong Se-hyun and Kim Yeon-chul.
The meeting examined strategies to gain momentum in long-stalled inter-Korean relations and build trust, the ministry said, as North Korea has repeatedly blasted Seoul over drones the regime claimed were sent by the South in September and Jan. 4.
"Based on a swift response to North Korea's claims of drone incursions from the South, (the ministry) will continue efforts to alleviate inter-Korean tensions and build trust," the ministry quoted Chung as saying.
Chung also described the period leading up to U.S. President Donald Trump's planned trip to China in April as a "decisive" time for building peace on the Korean Peninsula, calling for "proactive and creative" efforts to help realize U.S.-North Korea summit talks.
The panel emphasized the need for high-level communication with neighboring countries to facilitate peace on the peninsula while advising the minister to use the "indirect" communication with Pyongyang triggered by the drone incident as an opportunity to restore severed inter-Korean communication channels.
Since the North's incursion claims last Saturday made through the media, South Korea has launched a joint military-police investigation into the allegations, including whether civilians were behind the drone dispatch.
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