North Korea Warns "Unfortunate Incident" if Territorial Waters Violated Two Days After Apology (Comprehensive)

"South's Intrusion into Our Territorial Waters During Search Cannot Be Overlooked"
Cheong Effectively Rejects Request for Additional Investigation... Indicates Independent Search
"Considering Plan to Hand Over Bodies to South Upon Recovery"

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un officially apologized to our side regarding the incident in which a public official who went missing at sea near Soyeonpyeongdo in the West Sea was shot and killed by North Korea. Two days later, on the 27th, marines are on guard duty at Yeonpyeongdo, Ongjin County, Incheon.

North Korea stated on the 27th that it "demands the South immediately cease unauthorized incursions into the West Sea Military Demarcation Line, which could provoke new tensions," in response to South Korea's search operations for the government official shot dead by North Korean forces in the West Sea. The North effectively rejected the additional and joint investigations proposed by the Blue House. Instead, North Korea said it is considering conducting its own search for the body and is also thinking about ways to hand it over to the South if recovered.

On the same day, through a report by the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea said, "We do not care if the South conducts any search operations in its own territorial waters," but added, "However, any intrusion into our territorial waters cannot be overlooked, and we sternly warn against it."

This statement from North Korea came just two days after Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, made an unprecedented apology on the 25th, saying, "We deeply regret the unexpected unfortunate incident that occurred in our waters, which has caused great disappointment to President Moon Jae-in and the people of the South."

North Korea cited a notification from its West Sea Fleet of the Navy, claiming, "Since the 25th, numerous vessels and other ships from the South have been mobilized in what appears to be search operations, intruding into our waters."

It also warned, "Such actions by the South are causing us to be on high alert and are foreshadowing another unfortunate incident."

Through this statement, North Korea is seen as rejecting the Blue House's proposal for additional and joint investigations.

Professor Im Eul-chul of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Gyeongnam National University analyzed, "While this could be seen as a natural stance from North Korea, it can also be interpreted as a sign that additional joint investigations for fact-finding will not be easy going forward."

Instead, North Korea appears to be considering its own investigation and search measures. In the report, North Korea claimed, "We are organizing searches across the entire southwestern sea and western coast areas, and if we recover a body carried by currents, we have even thought about the procedures and methods to hand it over to the South as per customary practice."

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un officially apologized to our side regarding the incident in which a public official who went missing at sea near Soyeonpyeongdo in the West Sea was shot and killed by North Korea. Two days later, on the morning of the 27th, marines are conducting maritime reconnaissance in the waters off Yeonpyeongdo, with the North Korean side's Dansanggot visible.

At the same time, North Korea stated, "On the 25th, regarding the unfortunate incident that should not have occurred in the current inter-Korean relations situation, we investigated and notified the South of the full details of the incident," adding, "Following the will of the supreme leadership, we have reinforced necessary safety measures to ensure that the trust and respect between the North and South are never damaged under any circumstances."

Professor Im said, "It seems this message carries a warning not to apply further pressure, as North Korea believes it has taken the best possible measures within its capacity to maintain trust and respect between the two Koreas, including thorough fact-finding, measures to prevent recurrence, and a high-level apology from the supreme leader."

Meanwhile, on the 26th, the Blue House announced that it would demand additional investigations from North Korea and, if necessary, request joint investigations with the North. This is because there are discrepancies between the South Korean military and intelligence agencies' intelligence assessments and North Korea's explanations in its notification to the South regarding whether the missing person's body was burned, whether there was testimony about an attempted defection to the North, the shooting situation at the time, and orders from superiors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.