North Korean leader offers rare apology for killing of South Korean

North Korea expressed regret on Friday for having shot dead a South Korean man to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the South’s national security adviser said, amid growing public and political outrage.

The apology figured in a letter from the North’s United Front Department, which handles cross-border ties, to South Korean President Moon Jae-in a day after Seoul officials said the North’s soldiers killed the man, doused his body in oil and set it on fire.

“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, the adviser.

“The letter was a quick response to our requests and included the explanations for the incident, an apology and promises to prevent recurrence,” he told a briefing.