Kim Jong-Un Formally Apologizes for Shooting of South Korean Soldier in the DMZ

Kim Jong Un issued a rare apology for the shooting of a South Korean soldier by North Korean military troops north of the border.

On Friday, national security adviser Suh Hoon reported that North Korea sent a letter addressing the killing of a 47-year-old man who worked for the fisheries ministry. The shooting was the first such type in about a decade.

“Kim gave the order to deliver the message that he is very sorry that the incident gave a major disappointment to South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the South Korean people,” the United Front Department letter stated.

On Thursday, South Korea demanded North Korea to show repentance. It seems the shooting happened around the same day Moon urged world leaders at a speech to the United Nations General Assembly to bring the 70-year-old Korean War to an end.

According to the former adviser to South Korea’s defense minister, Boo Seung-chan, “Kim’s apology definitely eased the elevating tension in the Korean Peninsula.”

“Kim may want to portray himself as a rational leader -- not a rogue leader -- to the international community amid his high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the U.S,” Boo Seung-chan added.

On Thursday, the North Korean troops shot the South Korean government official near Yeonpyeong Island, about 10 kilometers south of the nautical border.

Apparently, he was trying to defect but his body was burned by the North Koreans because they believed the soldier could have been infected with COVID-19 coronavirus.

North Korea denied that it intended to set the man’s body ablaze. According to the letter that included details of North Korea’s investigation, the unidentified man crossed the maritime border without authorization and was warned by the firing of two blanks.

However, he didn’t respond to commands and the North Korean patrol had to shoot. They found blood in the water but not a body and set fire to floating material in the area as a virus-prevention measure.

A day earlier, North Korea accused South Korea of making the “unilateral” announcement of this incident.