President Lee Jae Myung ordered a swift, rigorous investigation by a joint military-police task force into North Korea's claim that South Korea flew drones into the North, amid speculation that the aircraft may have been operated by civilians.

The presidential office said in a Saturday press release that Lee issued the directive, noting that civilian involvement in drone flights would constitute a serious crime threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and national security.

Earlier Saturday, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a statement that South Korean drones allegedly entered the North's airspace in September last year and again last Sunday and that they were shot down.

South Korea's Defense Ministry rejected the accusation, saying a preliminary review found that the military neither owns nor operated the drones in question on the dates Pyongyang cited.

The ministry said the possibility of civilian-operated drones would be thoroughly examined with other government agencies, stressing that Seoul had no intention of provoking the North and would continue efforts to ease tensions and build trust.

The Unification Ministry convened an emergency meeting of senior officials chaired by Vice Minister Kim Nam-jung to assess the situation, while the presidential office held a working-level National Security Council session led by first deputy national security director Kim Hyun-chong.