Home > National > North Korea

NIS employee says they sent money to 'North Korea drone infiltration' suspect for career advancement

Published: 13 Feb. 2026, 19:50 Updated: 13 Feb. 2026, 19:56

A joint military-police investigation task force probes North Korea’s claim of South Korean drone incursions as it conducts raids on the homes and offices of three civilian suspects on Jan. 21. [YONHAP]

An employee of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) told investigators they transferred money to a graduate student under investigation in the so-called “North Korea drone infiltration” case because they wanted to keep in touch with him.

The case centers on allegations that the student, identified by his surname of Oh, and an associate sent drones into North Korea at least three times. North Korea separately accused South Korea of drone incursions in September 2025 and again on Jan. 4, 2026, and those accusations led the military and police to launch a joint investigation last month.

A joint investigation task force questioned an NIS employee at the Grade 8 level on Thursday, local news outlet Yonhap News Agency reported Friday, suspecting the employee may have conspired with Oh. The task force applied charges, including violations of the Aviation Safety Act and the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act, as well as a general enemy-benefiting offense.

The employee said they maintained contact in part because they believed a future promotion could eventually place them in a covert-operations role.

The employee lent Oh 5.05 million won ($3,500) over 16 transactions and received 3.65 million won back. The employee was appointed as a career civil servant in June 2022 and now handles support work in an administrative department.

This composite image, carried by the North's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 10, shows debris of drones that Pyongyang claimed were sent by Seoul across the inter-Korean border. [YONHAP]

Investigators are also looking into a person surnamed Kim, who presented as a North Korea-focused director at drone manufacturer Estel Engineering.

The task force also summoned Kim on Thursday and questioned them over suspicions that they received several million won from the Korea Defense Intelligence Command.

Kim had previously been found to have told an acquaintance that they had developed drones and even tested sending them over Pyongyang. Kim told police the remarks were bluster.

The task force is also questioning Oh for a fourth time over the accusations that he sent drones into North Korea on at least three occasions.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]