South Korean prosecutors investigating impeached ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol have reportedly found evidence that the disgraced former leader ordered military drones to be sent over Pyongyang.

According to reports in South Korea this week, investigators have obtained audio recordings of communication between the then-president and the military over the alleged drone deployments.

Analysts say the incursions, which reportedly occurred in October 2024, were likely intended to provoke North Korea into a reaction.

That scenario would have provided Yoon with the justification to declare a national emergency and impose martial law, which he eventually did in December.

Yoon, who has since been impeached, is now facing criminal charges for insurrection over his short-lived declaration of martial law.

Choo Jae-woo, a foreign policy professor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, explained that there are "only two reasons" that a president can declare martial law, one of which is "external aggression or an invasion."

"It appears that after provoking the North, Yoon expected a retaliation that he could then use to justify declaring martial law," he told DW.

"But that plan backfired when the North did not respond militarily," he said. Pyongyang protested the incursions but stopped short of responding militarily.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that

© Deutsche Welle