North Korea’s Kim Jong-un makes rare apology to South over killed official
- North Korean officials this week shot and burned the body of a South Korean official who appeared to be trying to defect
- The leader sent a message to Seoul calling the incident ‘unexpected’ and ‘unfortunate’
It is extremely unusual for a North Korean leader to apologise to its southern neighbour on any issue.
“Comrade Kim Jong-un, the State Affairs Commission chairman, feels very sorry to give big disappointment to President Moon Jae-in and South Korean citizens because an unexpected, unfortunate incident happened at a time when South Korea grapples with the coronavirus pandemic,” Moon adviser Suh Hoon cited the message as saying.
In the letter, Pyongyang also acknowledged firing about 10 shots at the man, who had “illegally entered our waters” and refused to properly identify himself.
Seoul says North Korea killed South Korean official, burned his body
The 47-year-old official, who was affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, disappeared on Monday while on duty aboard an inspection boat in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong.
When his colleagues searched for him after his disappearance, they only found his shoes left on the ship’s stern. Days of searching involving aircraft and vessels were unsuccessful, according to the Defence Ministry.
When he entered North Korean waters, officials wearing gas masks aboard a boat quizzed him on why he was there on Tuesday afternoon. Later in the day, a North Korean navy boat came and opened fire at him, South Korea’s Defence Ministry said.
Sailors from the boat clad in gas masks and protective suits poured petrol on his body and set it on fire, the Defence Ministry said, citing intelligence gathered by surveillance equipment and other assets.
South Korean media reports said the killed official was a father of two who had recently divorced and was having financial problems.
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General Robert Abrams, the commander of US troops in South Korea, said last month that North Korea had put special forces along its border with China to keep smugglers out and that they had “shoot-to-kill orders in place” aimed at preventing the coronavirus from entering the country.
Senior military officer Ahn Young Ho told reporters on Thursday that Seoul strongly condemned North Korea’s “atrocious act” and urged it to punish those responsible.
Top presidential official Suh Choo-suk said in a separate news conference that North Korea had to apologise for its “act against humanity”, reveal the full details of the case and take steps to prevent similar incidents.
“For whatever reason, North Korea cannot justify its soldiers fatally shooting our citizen and damaging his body, though he was unarmed and had no intention of resistance,” Suh said.
President Moon Jae-in called the incident “shocking”, “intolerable” and “very regrettable”. He ordered the military to strengthen its readiness.
Additional reporting by AFP
