NKorea’s Kim apologizes over shooting death of SKorean
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA » North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologized Friday over the killing of a South Korean official who was apparently trying to defect near the rivals’ disputed sea boundary, saying he’s “very sorry” about the incident, South Korean officials said.
It’s extremely unusual for a North Korean leader to apologize to South Korea on any issue. Kim’s move will likely de-escalate tensions between the Koreas as it’s expected to ease anti-North sentiments in South Korea as well as mounting criticism of its liberal President Moon Jae-in.
“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 North Korean message as saying.
South Korea earlier accused North Korea of fatally shooting one of its public servants who was likely trying to defect and burning his body after finding him on a floating object in North Korean waters on Tuesday. South Korean officials condemned what they called an “atrocious act” and pressed North Korea to punish those responsible.
According to the North Korean message, North Korean troops first fired blanks after the man found in the North’s waters refused to answer other than saying he’s from South Korea a couple of times. Then, as he made moves to flee, the North Korean troops fired 10 rounds. When they came near the floating object, they only found lots of blood but no sign of him.
The troops determined he was dead and burned the floating object in line with anti-coronavirus rules, according to the North Korean message read by Suh.
Senior South Korean military officer Ahn Young Ho told a parliamentary committee meeting Thursday that North Korea killed the man likely because of elevated anti-coronavirus measures that involve “indiscriminate shooting” at anyone approaching its borders illegally.
Defense Minister Suh Wook said at the same meeting that the official was believed to have tried to defect because he left his shoes on the ship, put on a life jacket and boarded a floating object. Suh also cited circumstantial evidence indicating the defection attempt. Some experts say there wasn’t enough proof to conclude he tried to cross over to North Korea.
Kim’s message said North Korea “cannot not help expressing big regrets” over the fact South Korea had used “blasphemous and confrontational words like atrocious act” to condemn the North before asking it to explain details of the incident. But it said North Korea is still sorry about such an incident happening on its territory and will take steps to prevent trust between the countries from collapsing.
The presidential Blue House said Friday that Moon and Kim had recently exchanged letters before the latest incident. In his letter, Kim expressed worries about coronavirus outbreaks and typhoon damage in South Korea and wished Moon a good health.
“Kim Jong Un’s supposed apology reduces the risk of escalation between the two Koreas and keeps the Moon government’s hopes for engagement alive,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said. “The shooting incident was also turning South Korean public opinion against offering peace and humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang.”