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In an extremely rare gesture, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un apologized for killing a South Korean official, Seoul said.
Kim reportedly told his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that “Shameful incident” it shouldn’t have happened, according to the BBC.
South Korea announced that the body of the 47-year-old man was found floating in the territorial waters belonging to North Korea. The man was shot, Seoul authorities said.
The killing of the South Korean citizen by North Korean forces, the first such incident in a decade, has sparked outrage in the south. The border between the two states is closely watched and the north is supposed to have decided shooting anyone who crosses the border to prevent the coronavirus from entering the country.
What Kim Jong-un transmitted to South Koreans
Kim apologized in a letter to President Moon, acknowledging that the incident should not have happened, officials from South Korea’s Blue House said. The leader of the North also said that he was “a ruinous incidentAnd he regrets having “disappointed” the leader of the South and his people. It is the first official comment from the North on the incident.
North Korea told South Korea the results of its investigation, saying that at least 10 shots were fired at the man, who had entered North Korean waters and then tried to flee, said South Korean National Security Director Suh Hoon. .
But those of the north say that they did not burn the body, but that it was burned by the fire that engulfed the “floating material” in which it was.
Who was the man killed by the North Koreans?
The man was the father of two children and worked for the Department of Fisheries. He was in the patrol boat about 10 km from the northern border near Yeonpyeong Island when he disappeared on Monday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. The South Korean press said he had recently been divorced and was in financial trouble.
A North Korean patrol found the man, who was wearing a life jacket, at sea around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. They shot him and left him in the water. South Korea says North Korean troops burned his body at sea.
The reaction of the South Korean authorities
President Moon Jae-in said it was an incident “shocking”, that cannot be tolerated. Sent north to act “responsable” in this case.
The National Security Council said the North could not “The shooting and burning of the body of our unarmed citizen, who showed no signs of danger, is in no way justified.”
Kim’s apology comes at a time when North-South relations are extremely strained.
Publisher: DC
