According to Yonhap, on July 30 local time, an unidentified flying object was discovered in the northern border area of South Korea, resulting in the evacuation of some residents nearby. It was later confirmed that the object was a US military drone participating in a joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States.
According to local residents, at approximately 2:30 PM that afternoon, village chiefs received a text message stating, “Unidentified drones have appeared in the Taewon area of Gangwon Province; residents in nearby areas need to be evacuated immediately.” It is reported that a post station under the jurisdiction of a certain division of the Taewon Army sent the message to the heads of nearby villages. The Joint Staff Office confirmed at approximately 3:30 PM that the aircraft was a U.S. drone participating in joint military exercises.
The United States military in Korea also confirmed that the aircraft involved was a drone belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps, participating in the South Korean-US joint military exercise. The U.S. and South Korean Marine Corps conducted a joint military exercise on that day, and this accident occurred during the exercise. The U.S. side is investigating the details of the accident and is in communication with the South Korean military and local authorities.
It is speculated that this incident may have been due to the U.S. military drones not properly reporting their flight plans in border areas to South Korea, or because the drones deviated from their planned flight paths.
