Kim Jong Un says he is 'very sorry' after North Korean soldiers shot dead a South Korean man and were accused of setting his body on fire as a precaution against coronavirus
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he is "very sorry" for his country shooting dead a South Korean man.
North Korean soldiers killed the man in a bid to stop the coronavirus from spreading to the North, according to South Korea's national security adviser.
South Korea said the man was doused in oil and set on fire, which North Korea denies.
In a letter, Kim said he was sorry for "disappointing President Moon and South Koreans."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said he is "very sorry" for his country shooting dead a South Korean man in a bid to stop the coronavirus from spreading to the north, according to South Korean officials.
North Korean soldiers shot dead a 47-year-old South Korean fisheries official, then covered his body in oil and set it on fire in a bid to ensure he did not carry the coronavirus into the country, according to an official account from Seoul, South Korea's capital, which was cited by Reuters.
The incident has sparked international outrage and become a highly charged domestic issue in South Korea, where President Moon Jae-in called it "unpardonable," according to Reuters.
Aides to the South Korean president confirmed on Friday that North Korea had sent a formal apology to the South.
"Chairman Kim Jong Un asked to convey his feeling that he is greatly sorry that an unexpected and unsavory incident occurred in our waters which hugely disappointed President Moon Jae-in and compatriots in the South," said Suh Hoon, South Korea's national security adviser, according to Reuters.
In a letter, Kim said he was sorry for "disappointing President Moon and South Koreans" instead of helping them to defeat the "malicious coronavirus," according to Agence France-Presse.
The letter said the man — who some reports said was trying to defect to North Korea — was found floating in a life jacket in North Korean waters. He had gone missing on September 21.
The country acknowledged that soldiers then fired 10 shots at the man who had "illegally entered our waters" and failed to identify himself. However, North Korean officials denied setting his body on fire. They said instead that they had set his flotation device on fire to protect themselves from the risk of the coronavirus.
Military officials in Seoul, citing unspecified intelligence, said the man was interrogated over several hours by North Korean navy officials in the water and expressed his desire to defect. He was then killed after instructions from a "superior authority," officials said, according to AFP.
The South Korean man had two children and financial problems and had recently divorced, according to South Korean media reports cited by AFP.
It comes as both Moon and Kim attempt to ease tensions between the countries.
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