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Agence France-Presse

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret to Pyongyang on Monday over drones sent into North Korea earlier this year, actions he called “irresponsible”.
South Korea initially denied any official role in the January drone incursion – with authorities suggesting it was the work of civilians – but Lee said an investigation had revealed government officials had been involved.
“Although this was not the intention of our government, we express our regret to the North that unnecessary military tensions were caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of a few individuals,” Lee said during a cabinet meeting.
North Korea warned in February of a “terrible response” if it detected more drones crossing the border from the South, prompting Seoul to investigate the claims.

Pyongyang said it downed a drone carrying “surveillance equipment” in early January.
Photos released by state media showed the wreckage of a winged craft scattered across the ground alongside grey and blue components that allegedly included cameras.
“It has been confirmed that a National Intelligence Service official and an active-duty soldier were involved,” Lee told a cabinet meeting.
“We express regret to the North over the unnecessary military tensions caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of some individuals.”


The remarks came after the indictment of a graduate student surnamed Oh, who was taken into custody and charged with benefiting an enemy state and violating the Aviation Safety Act by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on March 25.
On March 31, a joint military-police task force subsequently announced that a National Intelligence Service employee and two active-duty military officers had been referred to prosecutors for allegedly helping Oh send the drones across the border between September last year and January.
Rebuffed overtures
“The South Korean law prohibits individuals from privately provoking the North. It is deeply regrettable that someone carried out this kind of private provocation against the North,” Lee said.
“Residents in the border regions must have been more anxious than anyone else because of this incident. I ask the relevant ministries to immediately improve the system and take enforceable measures to ensure that similar cases do not recur.”
Lee has sought to repair ties with North Korea since taking office last year, criticising his predecessor for allegedly sending drones to scatter propaganda over Pyongyang.
His repeated overtures, however, have gone unanswered by the North.

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol is standing trial over charges that his administration sent drones into the North to provoke a backlash and create a pretext for declaring military rule.
Yoon was impeached and ousted from office in April last year and has been sentenced to life in prison over his declaration of martial law.
Lee’s expression of regret follows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un labelling Seoul as the “most hostile state” in a policy address in March in which he vowed to “thoroughly reject and disregard it”.
Kim also reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining the country’s nuclear arsenal, describing it as an “irreversible course”.
During Yoon’s presidency, relations between Seoul and Pyongyang hit rock bottom, with the North sending balloons filled with garbage, including animal manure, in response to propaganda leaflets sent northwards by South Korea-based activists, many of them North Korean defectors.
The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, and both enforce mandatory military service for men.
Additional reporting by The Korea Times


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South Korea’s Lee regrets drones sent to North: ‘irresponsible and reckless’

Fragments of a drone lie scattered on the ground in Muksan-ri, North Korea, after being shot down on January 4. Photo: KCNA/Reuters

A composite of images taken on January 4 shows wreckage of a drone that North Korea claims originated from South Korea. Photo: KCNA/AFP

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French President Emmanuel Macron (left) shakes hands with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung during a joint press conference after their meeting at the Blue House in Seoul on Friday. Photo: EPA

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Asia

East Asia

The South Korean president said an investigation revealed that government officials were involved in the incursion earlier this year


The South Korean president said an investigation revealed that government officials were involved in the incursion earlier this year.


South Korea’s Lee regrets drones sent to North: ‘irresponsible and reckless’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The South Korean president said an investigation revealed that government officials were involved in the incursion earlier this year

The South Korean president said an investigation revealed that government officials were involved in the incursion earlier this year