Seoul: The U.N. civilian aviation agency has dismissed North Korea's request to investigate its claim of South Korean drones infiltrating Pyongyang's airspace last year, a Seoul official said Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, earlier this year, North Korea submitted the request to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for a probe into the alleged drone infiltrations in October. At the ICAO Council meeting on April 1, North Korea's claim was not accepted, and the council decided by consensus that no measures were necessary regarding the case, noted a foreign ministry official.
Under ICAO regulations, the agency's council must discuss all issues brought up by a member state. The case was dismissed through a closed-door meeting of the council, which is comprised of 36 members, including South Korea. South Korea has expressed opposition to what it called North Korea's "politicization" of the ICAO after the investigation request was made.
In October, North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones over Pyongyang to scatter propaganda leaflets, a claim which Seoul has neither confirmed nor denied. Both South and North Korea are member states of the ICAO.