North Korean civil defense forces are reportedly drilling countermeasures against drone incursions. During the drills, instructors mentioned drones flown over the border from South Korea in an attempt to whip up antagonism against the South.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that civil defense forces, including the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and army reserves, began drilling countermeasures against foreign drone incursions on Jan. 12.
For two weeks, civil defense forces were embedded with military units and participated in joint exercises about reporting suspicious flying objects to the military command and using military-grade electronic jamming equipment to bring down the drones.
The drill instructors reportedly explained that the drills were being held because of South Korean drone incursions. “Our enemies’ provocations are growing bolder by the day. Last September and this January, drones launched from South Korea crossed into our territory for surveillance and reconnaissance in yet another violation of our sovereignty,” one instructor said.
The instructors mentioned South Korean drone incursions reported by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun on Jan. 10 in an attempt to stress the drills’ importance and incite hostility against the South.
“Given the major arms factories and military facilities in North Pyongan province, our enemies could carry out drone incursions at any time,” an instructor said, calling on civil defense forces to remain watchful and alert.
Civil defense forces suspect Chinese drones
But some members of the civil defense forces apparently speculated that any drones reaching North Pyongan province would probably have originated not in South Korea but in China.
In fact, Chinese civilians frequently fly drones across the Yalu River to photograph parts of North Pyongan province on the border with China, including Sinuiju, Uiju county, and Ryongchon county. Since drone footage of these areas is posted on WeChat and other Chinese social media platforms, North Koreans are aware that drones from China sometimes enter North Korean airspace, the source said.
During the civil defense drills, instructors reportedly said the North Korean military plans to continue holding anti-drone drills.
“Since our enemies are continuing their drone provocations, drone countermeasures will continue to be part of drills for the Worker-Peasant Red Guards and army reserves. We are taking this measure because of the increasing number of foreign drone incursions,” an instructor was quoted as saying.
On January 10, a spokesperson for the General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army released a statement claiming that North Korea had shot down South Korean drones that had flown over the border on Sept. 27, 2025, and Jan. 4, 2026, and threatened that South Korea would pay for such actions.
The next day, a follow-up statement was issued by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in the ruling party.
“I, personally, appreciate that the ROK Ministry of Defence [made] a wise choice for survival when it made public its official [stance] never to provoke or irritate us,” Kim said in the statement. “To us, the case is a grave infringement upon the DPRK’s inviolable sovereignty committed by the ROK, no matter whether Yoon or Ree did [it].”
Kim was referring to former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol and current president Lee Jae-myung. The ROK and the DPRK are acronyms for the official names of South and North Korea, respectively.
The South Korean national police and military responded by setting up a joint task force to investigate the claimed drone incursions. Investigators on the task force have questioned a thirtysomething graduate student and the owner of a drone manufacturing company who claim to have flown drones into North Korea.
Reporting from inside North Korea
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