Pyongyang says the incident should not have happened, South Korea gathers dozens of naval vessels to find the remains of the man.
North Korea said on Sunday it was searching for a body killed by a South Korean official, but warned that a South Korean naval operation in the area threatened to escalate tensions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday issued a rare apology for the fatal shooting of a South Korean fishing officer in North Korean waters.
Seoul then urged Pyongyang to further investigate the fatal shooting and suggested that a joint investigation could be carried out by both sides.
The South Korean military has accused North Korean soldiers of killing the man, tying his body to fuel and setting it on fire near the sea border.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Sunday that the country’s authorities were considering a way to hand over the bodies to the South if found.
The report called it “not a horrific case” but warned that South Korean naval operations near the scene had spilled over into North Korean waters.
“We urge the south to immediately stop the infiltration of the military demarcation line into the western sea,” KCNA said.
A spokesman for South Korea’s national defense ministry did not immediately comment on the North’s allegations.
South Korea has collected 39 ships, including 16 naval vessels and six aircraft, for the search, which continued despite North Korean complaints on Sunday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.
KCNA said North Korea was launching its own search operation to recover the body.
“We have taken further necessary security measures to ensure that no incidents of breach of trust and respect between the North and the South occur under any circumstances,” the report added. Without details.
