Drone commander suspended over drone dispatch to NK allegedly linked to martial law

The defense ministry said Monday it has suspended the head of the Drone Operations Command over suspicions that military drones were illegally dispatched to North Korea last year as part of preparations for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law. Maj. Gen. Kim Yong-dae, commander of the unit, was separated from his duties Monday pending suspension, the defense ministry said, a day after an arrest warrant was sought for him in connection with the investigation into Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law declaration. A special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk filed for the warrant for Kim, who has been in custody, on charges that include forging official documents. The investigation team suspects Yoon gave direct orders to the drone commander in October last year to dispatch drones to North Korea without reporting to the defense ministry or the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), aiming to provoke military retaliation from North Korea to allegedly justify the martial law imposition. The Seoul Central District Court, however, rejected the warrant request Monday, noting detention would excessWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times