Anchor: Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has publicly expressed regrets, admitting that South Korean drones flew to North Korea late last year and early this year. His statement came 28 days after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, demanded an apology from Seoul.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: Seoul’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has expressed what he called “deep regrets” over January’s surveillance drone incursions into North Korea.

Chung addressed the issue during a Mass for inter-Korean peace at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on Tuesday night.

Speaking to KBS after the Mass, the minister explained his position.

[Sound bite: Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (Korean-English)]
“The joint military-police task force announcement today that it had raided locations and booked a few soldiers and [a National Intelligence Service] employee for cooperating with the civilian [suspects] is basically a confirmation that drones were sent to the North, and therefore it was deemed necessary to express regrets.”

The drone incursions in question happened in September of last year and again in early January, after the Lee Jae Myung government had repeatedly called for inter-Korean peace.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Yo-jong then issued a statement calling for an apology.

[Sound bite: Unification Minister Chung Dong-young (Korean-English)]
“The previous government in October 2024 mobilized the military to send 18 drones as many as eleven times to infiltrate the airspace over key facilities in North Korea. It was truly a dangerous act that could have triggered a war. The incident is an unfortunate one that must never happen again. After that, a new government was launched in South Korea …”

South Korean investigators identified three civilian suspects in January's drone launches. Two of them worked at the presidential office in 2022 on short-term contracts.

Investigators are now looking into the possibility that multiple figures in the National Intelligence Service and the military may have sponsored the drone incursions.

Speaking to lawmakers last month, Chung hinted that the drone incursions may have been the work of what he called the “remnants” of the now-ousted Yoon government. 

Asked by KBS whether his remarks on Tuesday had been coordinated in advance with the presidential office, Chung said he’d discussed the issue with the presidential National Security Council and had made his statement in that context.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.