The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) clarified on August 4 that the military had approved the operation of a drone, which was mistakenly identified as an enemy drone, prior to the issuance of the 'Crane' alert on August 3. This statement came in response to claims made by Seong Il-jong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party.
In a text announcement, the JCS stated, "The drone flight in the northern Gyeonggi Province on August 3 was approved in advance by the 1st Corps, and the relevant operational units were aware of it."
The JCS further explained that the drone was part of a new military capability evaluation project being conducted by the Army Test and Evaluation Command, which had planned civilian drone flights for preparatory purposes. The drone was authorized to fly below 500 feet in the morning and afternoon, but it exceeded the approved altitude in the afternoon.
Additionally, the JCS noted that the 1st Corps conducted standard operational procedures to comprehensively verify and assess whether the drone was an approved or unapproved one.
They expressed concern that the exposure of normal operational procedures of frontline units could impact military readiness and troop morale.
Earlier, during a press conference at the National Assembly, Seong claimed, "Another major incident occurred in the 1st Corps yesterday, where our drone was mistaken for an enemy drone, nearly leading to it being shot down and the issuance of the 'Crane' alert."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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