[비즈한국] It has been revealed that the drone North Korea extensively displayed, claiming it crashed in the center of Kaesong on January 11, is actually the 'Skywalker Titan,' a low-cost commercial model from the Chinese company Skywalker. In particular, this aircraft has been confirmed to be identical in model and even in the shade of paint applied for camouflage to an unidentified crashed drone discovered in the Yangpyeong and Yeoju regions of Gyeonggi-do on November 13, 2025, raising the possibility that this incident was orchestrated within the South Korean private sector.
It is highly likely that the drone unveiled by North Korea is a commercial Skywalker model from China. It is a small fixed-wing drone with a wingspan of 2.16m and a fuselage length of 1.23m; the fuselage length, material, motor position, and receiver antenna shape of both drones are identical to those of the Skywalker drone.
The Skywalker drone is a product easily purchased by anyone on overseas online shopping malls like Alibaba. Its maximum takeoff weight is around 4.5~6kg, its cruising speed is 65~75km/h, and it can fly for anywhere from 60 to 150 minutes depending on battery capacity.
The core of this incident is that the drone that crashed in Kaesong resembles the wreckage of the drones found in succession in the Yangpyeong and Yeoju areas of Gyeonggi-do on November 13, 2025, like 'fraternal twins.' My investigation revealed that the drone found in November was also a Skywalker Titan model, and its surface was painted with a sky-blue camouflage pattern.
This blue paint job is an elaborate imitation of the color and pattern used on drones that invaded the Seongju THAAD base in 2017 and Seoul airspace in 2022. In other words, the wing shape and traces of artificial blue overpainting on the drone wreckage found in Gyeonggi-do in November are completely identical to the airframe North Korea recently unveiled.
The possibility that the drone found in Gyeonggi-do last November was launched from North Korea to enter the South is extremely low. This is because the maximum range of this model is only 60~100km. The Yangpyeong and Yeoju regions of Gyeonggi-do, where the November drone wreckage was found, are located about 100km from the North Korean border; if it had taken off from North Korea, the battery would have been depleted during the one-way flight, making a return impossible. In other words, the conclusion is that it is highly unlikely to have been sent by North Korea to scout the South and return. Conversely, since it makes no sense for our military or intelligence agencies to choose a low-cost commercial aircraft and imitate existing North Korean drone paint patterns during an operation, the most likely scenario is a 'self-directed drama' where a civilian in South Korea painted it to look like a North Korean drone and flew it.
In this regard, circumstances have also been captured where unidentified drone technicians approached some anti-North Korea balloon activists. According to an anonymous source, following the North Korean drone provocations, unidentified drone technicians reportedly suggested to officials of human rights groups that send anti-North Korean leaflets or supplies, saying, "If you pay us, we will build a drone capable of infiltrating North Korea."
While their exact identities and backers have not yet been confirmed, arguments are being raised that the connection between this Kaesong drone incident and the November Gyeonggi-do crash incident must be examined. Although investigative authorities have not disclosed the source of the drone found in November, it is highly likely that they concluded there were no anti-communist security concerns because the aircraft was owned by a South Korean civilian.
If this incident was indeed an act by a South Korean civilian to frame it as a North Korean provocation, it could be a grave criminal act that triggers fatal misunderstandings in inter-Korean relations and jeopardizes national security. Government authorities must conduct a precise analysis of the connection between the drone wreckage recovered in November and the drone displayed in Kaesong, and focus their investigative capabilities on finding the actual operator of the drone, which was tentatively concluded to have no anti-communist security concerns.