South Korea finds new fragments of North Korean drone

Seoul, Sep 15 (IANS/EFE) South Korea announced Monday that it had found new wreckage of a North Korean drone off its north-western coast.

The discovery came months after the South Koreans said they found similar wreckage allegedly belonging to its Communist neighbour, which sparked anger in the country.

The South Korean military found several pieces "identical to those from the drones sent earlier by North Korea" near Baengyeong island in the Yellow Sea, a spokesperson for the South Korean defence ministry told Efe news agency.

An investigation team from the army was investigating the wreckage and "will announce its conclusions in detail as soon as possible", the spokesperson added.

He added that the fragments from the suspected "drone", which included a broken wing and a parachute among several other items, were sky blue in colour like the ones found earlier.

The spokesperson said the searchers had not been able to find either the engine or the camera that is usually aboard the unmanned planes during their espionage missions.

Between March and April of this year, South Korea discovered as many as three drones near its border. After an investigation, it held North Korea responsible for the intrusion.

Pyongyang denied its involvement.

The discoveries generated a huge controversy in South Korea after it was revealed that one of them flew over and photographed the presidential house without being detected, which brought to light a crucial loophole in security.

The South Korean army believes that its northern neighbour has hundreds of drones, with a range of up to 800 km, that can be used for military attacks.

This has led to Seoul strengthening its surveillance since the first three devices were found.

--IANS/EFE

ab/dg