KB News Desk
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday it would inspect the Army’s 1st Corps after frontline troops mistook a US military drone involved in a joint exercise for hostile aircraft, activated an air-defense alert and prepared to shoot it down.
The JCS plans to examine the corps’ surveillance and reporting procedures and determine whether it properly maintained its operational readiness during Thursday’s incident.
“We plan to conduct an on-site inspection of the 1st Corps to closely examine its operational readiness posture and related reporting procedures,” the JCS said.
The incident occurred Thursday while the US Marine Corps was flying a fixed-wing surveillance drone over the area as part of the Korea Marine Exercise Program, or KMEP, at the Story Live Fire Complex near the inter-Korean border.
However, the relevant South Korean military authorities had not been aware of the flight plan in advance.
The exercise reportedly involved South Korean and US Marines firing 81-millimeter mortar training rounds, with the US drones used to locate and confirm targets.
The frontline unit responsible for surveillance operations in the area consequently treated the drone as unidentified aircraft, issued a Durumi air-defense alert for suspected enemy drones and prepared to intercept them.
The troops did not open fire, and subsequent tracking confirmed that the drone belonged to the US Marine Corps and was being used in the scheduled exercise.
The confusion also prompted local authorities to send an emergency alert advising nearby residents to evacuate.
The US side said it had notified the South Korean military of the drone flights in advance, but the information was not properly relayed to the relevant frontline unit or local authorities.
The incident caused unnecessary alarm among residents and raised questions about coordination and information-sharing between the South Korean and US militaries.
Separately, the Army Ground Operations Command has ordered frontline units to keep ammunition mounted on crew-served weapons deployed at guard posts and general outposts.
Under the order, ammunition belts for weapons stationed at GPs and GOPs are to remain attached to the weapons so they can be fired without delay if necessary.
The measure followed criticism that the 1st Corps had instructed some frontline units to store ammunition for K6 heavy machine guns separately from the weapons.
The ammunition belts had reportedly been kept in boxes beside the guns rather than loaded onto them, raising concerns that the arrangement could delay the response during an emergency.
The earlier instruction was believed to have been intended to prevent accidental fire, including the risk of rounds being mistakenly fired toward North Korea.
Critics, however, said the measure could weaken frontline readiness by requiring personnel to retrieve and attach ammunition before using the weapons.
The Ground Operations Command said it had been inspecting security operations at all frontline units since Thursday and would take further measures based on the results.
“The Ground Operations Command is conducting inspections of security operations at all frontline units and will take necessary measures according to the findings,” it said.
