North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has apologized for shooting a South Korean who may have wanted to defect to the north. That happened earlier this week.
The government employee disappeared from a South Korean ship.
According to South Korea, he was shot by North Korean soldiers while floating in the water on a raft. The North Korean authorities subsequently burned his body.
Kim has now said, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap, that he regrets disappointing South Korea.
He hopes that the relationship between the two countries will not deteriorate as a result. “The incident should not have happened,” North Korea said in a statement, Yonhap said. “More than ten shots have been fired as part of measures to prevent coronavirus infection.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that there would be retaliatory measures. The army is being put on alert, according to the Ministry of Defense. The official’s death caused much outrage in South Korea.
Defense Minister Suh Wook said at a press conference that the military is intervening when North Korea threatens the security of South Koreans.