South Korea on Friday reportedly claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has tendered his apology over the killing of a South Korean official earlier this week.
South Korea’s Presidential office released a statement saying that Kim communicated his apology in a message to South Korea. It added that Kim described the incident as “unexpected” and “unfortunate”.
The apology from the North Korean dictator came as a surprise for the South Korean officials as well as the world, given that the North Korean leader is not known for expressing his regret over any issues with the South. The two countries share a troubled history and enduring dispute, going back to several decades, in the aftermath of World War II when a conflict resulted in the division of Korea into North and South.
“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”, Moon adviser Suh Hoon cited the North Korean message as saying.
According to Seoul, the message received from North Korea said that the troops fired in the air after the man did not explain why he was there, rather than just saying that he had come from South Korea. The man then tried to flee, when the North Korean troops fired 10 rounds at him. When they came close to the man’s floating object, all they could found was blood and the man wasn’t seen.
After ascertaining that the man was dead, the officials burned the floating object as per the coronavirus guidelines of the country, the message from North Korea read.
South Korea accused North Korean of shooting an offical dead
The apology came against the backdrop of allegations levelled by South Korea against the North Korean officials of shooting a fisheries official to death. South Korea on Thursday contended that one of its officials, was killed by the troops in the North and his body set ablaze for fear he might be carrying coronavirus.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in of South Korea described the shooting of its officer as a “stunning and deeply regrettable act that cannot be tolerated”. The Defense Ministry of South Korea called the incident “atrocious” and asked North to punish those responsible for the killing.
