Amid a commotion in which residents evacuated after an unidentified friend-or-foe drone was spotted in a border area of northern Gyeonggi, it was found on the 31st that the South Korean military nearly shot it down, not realizing it was a U.S. drone participating in a combined exercise.
According to the military authorities, the U.S. Marine Corps participating in the Korea Marine Exercise Program (KMEP), a South Korea-U.S. Marine Corps combined drill, conducted training on the afternoon of the 30th in a forward area of Paju, Gyeonggi. As part of the drill, the U.S. Marines put a fixed-wing reconnaissance drone into the air over the area.
The South Korean military authorities did not recognize the U.S. Marines' flight plan in advance. The Army Ground Operations Command reportedly assessed the drone as an aerial threat and issued "Durumi," an air-defense posture for responding to enemy drones. Durumi is an operational system prepared for North Korean drone infiltrations. When issued, air-defense artillery and other forces are mobilized. No live fire was reported to have occurred.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed it was a U.S. military drone at about 3:30 p.m. on the 30th. To fly a drone near the Military Demarcation Line, prior notification of use must be given to the Army Ground Operations Command. Approval is also required, but the U.S. military did not follow that procedure, according to the military authorities. However, United States Forces Korea maintains that it had shared the flight plan of the drone, which was part of the combined exercise, with the South Korean military in advance.
Inside and outside the military, there are calls that the reporting and dissemination systems need to be reviewed comprehensively. Because the flight of an allied drone was not properly reported to the military leadership, the forces nearly caused a major incident by shooting down an ally's drone.
United States Forces Korea called the incident an "accident," saying it is assessing the circumstances and continuing to coordinate with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps and local authorities.