The Defense Ministry confirmed all three small drones found near the inter-Korean border in March and April were sent from North Korea.
 
The ministry announced the results of its final analysis Thursday. It said a South Korea-U.S. joint investigation team analyzed the flight paths of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by restoring the coordinates of the global positioning systems (GPS) in the drones.
 
The team found all three drones came from North Korea and were programmed to return to the North. The drones had also been programmed to fly over South Korean military facilities.
 
The drone found in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on March 24, departed from a location five kilometers northwest of the North Korean border city of Gaeseong. The drone that crashed on the northwestern border island of Baengnyeong on March 31 was sent from 27 kilometers southeast of Haeju, South Hwanghae Province. The drone found in Samcheok in South Korea's east coast on April 6 was sent from 17 kilometers east of Pyeonggang in the area of Gangwon Province controlled by  North Korea.
 
The defense ministry said photos taken by the drones that crashed in Paju and Baengnyeong Island match their programmed flight paths.
 
However, there are no photos to confirm the Samcheok drone followed its prearranged coordinates as the drone’s memory card was deleted.
 
North Korea is believed to have made the drones based on Chinese UAVs it imported from Hong Kong.
 
The defense ministry said the North sending drones is a clear violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and the South-North non-aggression agreements. It said it will respond sternly to North Korea's provocation and deliver warnings through the United Nations Command.