Seoul, Oct 12 (IANS): North Korea's news media for the domestic audience on Saturday reported the reclusive regime's claim that the South sent unmanned drones carrying anti-North propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, as well as the country's state radio and TV, reported the news by carrying a statement from the North's foreign ministry issued the previous day, Yonhap news agency reported.

It is unusual for North Korea to publicise the South's sending of anti-North propaganda leaflets in its news outlets largely aimed at local citizens. The North, however, has often used the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), its foreign news outlet, to criticise such moves.

The Rodong Shinmun and the Korean Central TV showed images of unmanned drones spotted in the night skies over Pyongyang and anti-North leaflets allegedly dropped from the flights. The images were first distributed by the KCNA the previous day.

The decision to publicise the foreign ministry's statement among North Korean citizens, despite implications of potential issues with Pyongyang's air defence, seems to be aimed at justifying leader Kim Jong-un's characterisation of inter-Korean relations as those between "two states hostile to each other" late last year.

Some analysts suggest that the disclosure could be a strategic move to stir up anti-South Korean sentiment among its population, paving the way for a possible constitutional amendment supporting the two-state theory.

On Friday, the foreign ministry statement claimed that South Korean drones carrying leaflets were detected in the night skies over Pyongyang on October 3, as well as Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur once again.

South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, however, said that he could not confirm the North's claim.