SEOUL, Jan 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - North Korea accused the South on Saturday of flying another drone over its territory this month for the purpose of spying, a claim that Seoul denied.

The North Korean military tracked a drone "moving northwards" over the South Korean border county of Ganghwa in early January before shooting it down near the North Korean city of Kaesong, a spokesperson said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Surveillance equipment was installed" on the drone and analysis of the wreckage showed it had stored footage of the North's "important targets" including border areas, the spokesperson said.

South Korea said it had no record of the flight, and Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said the drone referred to by Pyongyang was "not a model operated by our military".

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had ordered an investigation, the defence ministry said.

Located northwest of Seoul, Ganghwa County is one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea.

Pyongyang said the drone footage was "clear evidence" that the aircraft had "intruded into (our) airspace for the purpose of surveillance and reconnaissance".

Its military spokesperson said the alleged incursion was similar to one in September when the South flew drones near its border city of Paju.

Seoul would be forced to "pay a dear price for their unpardonable hysteria" if the incursions continued, the spokesperson said.

South Korea is already investigating alleged drone flights over the North in late 2024, and prosecutors have indicted then-President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges that he illegally used the incursions as a pretext for his short-lived bid to impose martial law.

Seoul's military has not confirmed the drone flights in that case.