The Unification Ministry says it believes North Korea does not want inter-Korean ties to worsen despite the recent shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official in the North’s waters. 

The ministry revealed the assessment on Thursday in an audit session with the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification. 

The ministry said it reached such a conclusion after taking into account the fact that the two Koreas’ leaders exchanged personal letters last month and that the North swiftly conveyed a message of apology over the official’s death. 

However, the ministry was quick to add that sources of tension remain, citing the North’s failure to reply to the South’s request for a joint investigation into the recent shooting death. 

The ministry also noted that the North claimed South Korean officials trespassed into North Korean waters while searching for the official’s remains.

Regarding the next move related to the death, the ministry stressed the need to devise a joint resolution with the North to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.