Anchor: North Korea on Thursday acknowledged the South Korean government’s official recognition of recent drone incursions into the North. On Wednesday, the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, Seoul formally expressed regret for the drones, including those sent under the previous administration and vowed to prevent such incidents from happening again. 
Rosyn Park has this report.

Report: The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a statement Thursday, saying she “highly appreciates” South Korea’s acknowledgement of the provocative drone incursions into the North and its willingness to prevent a recurrence.

Kim Yo-jong’s remarks were reported by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, a day after South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expressed regret over the drone intrusions and relayed Seoul’s commitment to preventing such incidents from happening again.

During a press briefing in Seoul on Wednesday, Chung said civilian drones infiltrated North Korean airspace four times between September 2025 and January this year.

He also apologized for drones sent under the alleged direction of ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

[Sound bite: Chung Dong-young (Korean-English)]:
“Apart from the drone infiltrations during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the government is very sternly aware of [the recent series of drone incursions] and officially expresses regret to the North.”
“As previously stated, the Lee Jae Myung administration has consistently recognized and respected the other side’s system. We will not engage in any hostile actions and will preemptively push for the restoration of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement to prevent such hostile acts from happening again.”

Chung said the government also plans to reinstate no-fly zones along the border and strengthen penalties for illegal drone incursions through legal revisions, all of which will be announced later, at an appropriate time.

Under the military agreement signed by the two Koreas in 2018, drones were prohibited from operating within 15 kilometers of the Military Demarcation Line(MDL) in the eastern sector and ten kilometers in the western sector. 

But North Korea declared the “complete destruction” of the agreement in 2023.

While Seoul aims to revive the pact to reduce border tensions and rebuild trust, Pyongyang is moving to strengthen military vigilance along the border.

Kim Yo-jong stressed in her message to South Korea that if any violation of North Korea’s sovereignty were to happen again, regardless of who was responsible or what means were used, those involved would face “terrible consequences.” 
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.