海角大神

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologized Friday over the killing of a South Korea official who was apparently trying to defect near the rivals鈥� disputed sea boundary, saying he鈥檚 鈥渧ery sorry鈥� about the incident, South Korean officials said.

It鈥檚 extremely unusual for a North Korean leader to apologize to South Korea on any issue. Mr. Kim鈥檚 move will likely de-escalate tensions between the Koreas as it鈥檚 expected to ease anti-North sentiments in South Korea as well as mounting criticism of its liberal President Moon Jae-in.

鈥淐omrade 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鈥� at a time when South Korea is grappling 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 鈥渁trocious act鈥� 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鈥檚 waters refused to answer other than saying he鈥檚 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 Mr. 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 鈥渋ndiscriminate shooting鈥� 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. Mr. Suh also cited circumstantial evidence indicating the defection attempt. Some experts say there wasn鈥檛 enough proof to conclude he tried to cross over to North Korea.

Mr. Kim鈥檚 message said North Korea 鈥渃annot not help expressing big regrets鈥� over the fact South Korea had used 鈥渂lasphemous and confrontational words like 鈥榓trocious act鈥欌�� 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 Mr. Moon and Mr. Kim had recently exchanged letters before the latest incident. In his letter, Mr. Kim expressed worries about coronavirus outbreaks and typhoon damage in South Korea and wished Mr. Moon a good health.

鈥淜im Jong Un鈥檚 supposed apology reduces the risk of escalation between the two Koreas and keeps the Moon government鈥檚 hopes for engagement alive,鈥� Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said. 鈥淭he shooting incident was also turning South Korean public opinion against offering peace and humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang.鈥�

North Korea has previously expressed 鈥渞egrets鈥� when it wanted to lower tensions triggered by incidents involving South Korean casualties, such as the 2015 front-line mine blasts that maimed two South Korean soldiers and the 2008 shooting death of a South Korean tourist in North Korea. But it鈥檚 rare for a North Korean leader to do so.

In 2002, Kim Jong Il, the late father of Kim Jong Un, said he felt 鈥渟orry鈥� about a failed 1968 attempt to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee. In 1974, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un鈥檚 grandfather, also said he was 鈥渧ery sorry鈥� when he met Mr. Park鈥檚 spy chief in Pyongyang.

Before Mr. Kim鈥檚 apology, Mr. Moon鈥檚 government faced withering criticism by conservatives following its admission that officials already had acquired intelligence indicating the official鈥檚 death right after it happened. Conservatives lambasted the government for allegedly deliberately withholding the information so as not to spoil the atmosphere ahead of Mr. Moon鈥檚 speech at the virtual U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, during which he repeated his calls for declaring an end of the Korean War in a bid to build a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim Chong-in, a leader of the main conservative opposition People Power Party, called the official鈥檚 killing 鈥渁 national security disaster鈥� that was caused by Mr. Moon鈥檚 鈥渞osy illusion about North Korea.鈥�

The Blue House said Mr. Moon鈥檚 speech has nothing to do with the incident because it had been prerecorded and conveyed to the U.N. days before the man disappeared from a government ship on Monday. Mr. Suh, the defense minister, said authorities also needed time to analyze intelligence before formally holding North Korea responsible.

Since taking office in 2017, Mr. Moon has been pushing hard for warmer ties with North Korea and a negotiated settlement of the North鈥檚 nuclear crisis. His engagement policy once helped produce a flurry of rare exchange programs with North Korea, but they were nearly stalled amid a deadlock in broader nuclear diplomacy between Pyongyang and Washington.

Little is known about the slain official, except that he was a father of two who left behind some debts, according to authorities. Maritime police said Friday they were checking the man鈥檚 cellphone records, bank accounts, and insurance programs.

The coast guard says it was searching waters near the boundary in case the official鈥檚 body drifts back. The western sea boundary is where several bloody inter-Korean naval skirmishes and deadly attacks blamed on North Korea occurred in past years.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.