On Thursday, Kim Yo-jong, the deputy director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, praised South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young’s recent expression of regret over the drone infiltration incident as fortunate, while urging measures to prevent future occurrences.
The Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that Kim stated that she considers it fortunate that South Korean Unification Minister Chung officially expressed regret on Tuesday regarding the drone infiltration incident at the start of the New Year. She views this as a relatively sensible action.
Kim emphasized that however, the South Korean authorities should not attempt to gloss over the crisis they instigated with mere expressions of regret. They must implement concrete measures to ensure that serious violations of its republic’s airspace do not recur.
Kim further noted they’re not concerned with the identity of the main culprit behind the drone infiltration, be it an individual or a civilian organization. The primary issue is the fact that a significant violation of the nation’s airspace was carried out from South Korean territory, underscoring that the responsibility still rests with the South Korean government.
Kim warned that if provocations infringing upon the inviolable sovereignty of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea occur again, it will respond with severe measures. One of its various counterattack plans will certainly be implemented, and it will exceed proportionality.
She added that she cautions the South Korean authorities to focus on preventing recurrence to avoid internal foolish actions.
Previously, on January 13, Kim had issued a statement demanding that South Korea provide a detailed explanation regarding the drone entity. On January 11, she also acknowledged the South Korean Defense Ministry’s stance of not operating drones while still questioning the government’s accountability.
This statement was released just two days after Minister Chung’s initial expression of regret regarding the drone incident on Tuesday. However, it was not published in the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s main newspaper for its citizens.
During a mass at Myeongdong Cathedral, Minister Chung stated that he would like to take this opportunity to express deep regret to North Korea concerning the recent reckless drone infiltration. It was an extremely dangerous act that could have led to war, and it is a highly unfortunate incident that must never be repeated.