Sawt Falasteen - N. Korea warns of 'terrible response' if more drone incursions from South

South Korean investigators on Tuesday raided the offices of the country's spy agency, as they sought to establish who was responsible for a January incident in which Pyongyang says it shot down a surveillance drone near its industrial hub of Kaesong.

"I give advance warning that reoccurrence of such provocation as violating the inalienable sovereignty of the DPRK will surely provoke a terrible response," Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by state-run Korean Central News Agency.

While acknowledging that the South had taken "sensible" steps in the wake of January's incursion, Kim said the violation of the North's sovereignty was unacceptable no matter what the circumstances.

"We don't care who the very manipulator of the drone infiltration into the airspace of the DPRK is and whether it is an individual or a civilian organization," she said.

The incident heightened tensions and threatened to undermine Seoul's efforts to repair relations with Pyongyang.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to mend ties with his nation's nuclear-armed neighbour, vowing to stop the drones that buzzed across the border under his predecessor.

South Korea initially denied any official involvement in the January incident, but a joint military-police task force announced earlier this week it was investigating three active-duty soldiers and one spy agency staffer in an effort to "thoroughly establish the truth".

Investigators raided 18 locations of interest on Tuesday, including the Defense Intelligence Command and the National Intelligence Service.

In her statement, Kim warned Seoul that such incidents would not be tolerated.

"I warn the ROK authorities to pay heed to prevention so that such a foolish deed would never recur again inside their country," Kim said.

The North Korean military charged that the downed drone was carrying "surveillance equipment" and had stored footage of "important targets."

Photos showed the wreckage of a winged craft scattered across the ground next to a collection of grey and blue components.

South Korea's disgraced ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was accused of using unmanned drones to scatter propaganda leaflets over North Korea in 2024.

South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has previously suggested the incursion may have involved government officials still loyal to Yoon.

Three civilians have already been charged over their alleged role in the drone scandal.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST