Cause unknown; military recovered drone after resident report

'Occurred during training in area unrelated to North Korea,' army says

A swarm-type suicide drone on display at the 2026 Advanced Defense Pitch Day. [Defense Ministry]
A swarm-type suicide drone on display at the 2026 Advanced Defense Pitch Day. [Defense Ministry]

A small military drone crashed into a residential area in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, during a training exercise Tuesday.

The Army said a small unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to an Army unit in Gimpo came down for unknown reasons in a park near the training site during an educational training flight. The military recovered the drone after a resident reported the incident.

The Army added that there were no casualties or civilian damage beyond damage to the equipment, and that it is investigating the circumstances and cause.

At a regular briefing Tuesday, Army public affairs chief Bae Seok-jin dismissed any suggestion of a North Korean connection, saying the incident should be understood as an accident that occurred during training in an area unrelated to North Korea.


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