North Korea’s allegation that the South used military drones to scatter anti-regime leaflets has led to a surge in tensions between the neighbors, while focusing attention on the question of whether Seoul really sent aircraft over the border.

But lost in the DPRK’s unverified claims and threats of retaliation was a startling admission — that the Korean People’s Army failed to stop a modern aerial threat that flies lower and slower than large aircraft from infiltrating sensitive Pyongyang airspace, not just once but three separate times.

South Korea has neither confirmed nor denied