U.S. authorities have interrogated several individuals, including a graduate student suspected of launching drones into North Korea, as part of an ongoing investigation.
On Monday, the joint military-police task force revealed that they had questioned a 30-year-old graduate student, identified only as Mr. Oh, on January 24.
Mr. Jang, who co-founded a drone startup with Mr. Oh, was also brought in for questioning on January 23. This was Jang’s second round of interrogation, following his initial questioning on January 16.
In a media interview on January 16, Mr. Oh claimed he had launched drones into North Korea on three separate occasions to measure radiation levels from a uranium facility in Pyongsan County.
The suspects in this case include Mr. Oh, Mr. Jang (Chief Executive Officer of the drone manufacturing company Estelle Engineering), and Mr. Kim, who has been serving as the company’s director of North Korea-related operations.
Law enforcement has charged the suspects with illegally operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), violating aviation safety laws, and potentially breaching military security by filming domestic military installations.
Concerns have been raised that the drones may have captured images of U.S. and South Korean military facilities while en route to North Korea. Investigators are now probing whether the suspects intentionally targeted these sensitive sites.
As a precautionary measure, the task force has imposed travel restrictions on all three suspects, including Mr. Oh, who admitted to sending drones into North Korean airspace.