Urgent Report on Apology Notice News... Mentions of "Unfortunate Incident," "Apology"
CNN: "North Korea's Apology on Specific Issue Is Unusual"
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Foreign media urgently reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent an apology notice regarding the shooting and mutilation of the body of a South Korean citizen, describing it as a highly unusual event. The foreign media also reported that North Korea burned the body and floating debris of the killed official in accordance with COVID-19 quarantine rules.
CNN on the 25th evaluated, "It is extremely rare for the North Korean leader to apologize to the South on a specific issue." It added, "Given the current intense criticism of President Moon Jae-in, this apology is expected to relatively ease South Korea's anti-North sentiment."
France's AFP also sent an urgent Seoul dispatch stating, "North Korea apologized for shooting the defector." Japan's Kyodo News reported, "The North Korean leader apologized for the shooting death of a South Korean national." Major foreign media covered the nature and content of the apology notice, along with the Blue House's explanation that North Korean soldiers burned the floating debris that the official was on after his body disappeared, as part of COVID-19 response measures.
The unresolved controversies surrounding the official shot by North Korea after the incident were also reported. AP News stated, "The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said that North Korea indiscriminately fired shots in accordance with COVID-19 quarantine rules, and that the official appeared to have attempted to defect by relying on floating debris wearing a life jacket, leaving his shoes on the boat." However, "some experts believe that this circumstance alone is insufficient to conclude that the official attempted to defect," it reported.
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