- The Washington Times - Tuesday, April 1, 2014

South Korean authorities say they found an unmanned drone that crashed on one of its islands just after its military exchanged hundreds of shells with North Korea — and they suspect the craft was a malicious spy attempt from Kim Jong-un’s regime.

The drone crashed on the island of Baengnyeong and was discovered by a local resident, NBC News reported.

“As an in-depth analysis is currently under way, we cannot confirm which country made this drone,” one military official told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. “But there is a possibility that it belongs to North Korea.”

The South is trying to discern whether the drone is linked to Mr. Kim’s espionage operations, NBC reported.

The craft has been torn down. One official told Yonhap that it was between 7 and 10 feet long, had a Japanese engine and Chinese-made components — and was equipped with a tiny camera. On March 24, a similar drone was found in the border city of Paju, another source said to Yonhap.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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