North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered an apology to the South Korean people for the killing an official from the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries by the North Korean military earlier this week, reported the local media.
In a formal message to Seoul, Pyongyang said that Kim is “very sorry” to have “disappointed” President Moon Jae-in and other South Koreans with this incident, said the Blue House national security director Suh Hoon.
According to an investigation carried out by the North, it’s military operating near the maritime border with the South fired more than 10 shots at a South Korean who had entered the territorial waters, in accordance with the relevant instructions for such cases.
North Korea acknowledged burning the “floating material” that carried the individual, but not his body.
The South Korean military reported on September 23 that they were looking for a 47-year-old man who worked at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. He disappeared on September 21, when he was on duty aboard an inspection vessel near the island of Yeonpyeong Island, in the Yellow Sea, where the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas passes.
On September 24, the South Korean Defense Ministry claimed that North Korea had killed the man after discovering him in its waters and burning his body, according to intelligence services.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in condemned Pyongyang for that incident and ordered the military to redouble its vigilance and adopt the relevant security measures.