--- title: Drone Found Near Disputed Border Between North and South Korea description: Seoul is investigating the unmanned aircraft as a possible spy drone from North Korea canonical: https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/ author: Maddy Fry article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-01T11:57:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:04:07.897Z article:section: World og:title: Drone found near South Korean border og:description: Seoul is investigating the unmanned aircraft as a possible spy drone from North Korea og:url: https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Drone found near South Korean border twitter:description: Seoul is investigating the unmanned aircraft as a possible spy drone from North Korea twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Crashed Drone Found On South Korean Island by [Maddy Fry](/author/maddy-fry/) ## Maddy Fry Apr 1, 2014 11:57 AM CUT by [Maddy Fry](/author/maddy-fry/) ## Maddy Fry Apr 1, 2014 11:57 AM CUT An unidentified drone was [discovered](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/uk-korea-north-idUKBREA300B720140401 "undefined") Monday on the South Korean island of Baengnyeong, prompting Seoul to launch an investigation into whether it was a North Korean spy aircraft. The drone is thought to have landed on Monday at the same time North Korea fired rounds of artillery into seas near to the disputed border. It was reported to be 2 to 3 metres long and comprised of Chinese and Japanese parts, as well as a small camera. Its discovery spurred an investigation into whether the drone came from North Korea, as the island is near a disputed maritime border between the two countries, [reports](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/uk-korea-north-idUKBREA300B720140401 "undefined") Reuters. The South Korean military has tried to confirm whether the drone definitely came from the North and if it was linked to any espionage attempts. The South Korean military has tried to confirm whether the drone definitely came from the North and if it was linked to any espionage attempts. Although the rounds of artillery fired off by the North prompted Seoul to retaliate by firing back, the skirmish is thought to be little more than muscle-flexing from both sides rather than the beginnings of a military standoff. \[[Reuters](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/uk-korea-north-idUKBREA300B720140401 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/"},"headline":"Crashed Drone Found On South Korean Island","datePublished":"2014-04-01T11:57:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:04:07.897Z","description":"Seoul is investigating the unmanned aircraft as a possible spy drone from North Korea","url":"https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/","keywords":["North Korea","South Korea","Drone"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maddy Fry","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maddy-fry/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/45049/south-korea-drone-baengnyeong/","name":"Crashed Drone Found On South Korean Island"}}]}] ```