Kim Jong-un apologizes for the death of a South Korean official at the hands of his Army

North Korea has apologized after its military forces executed a South Korean civilian this week.

Through a formal communication sent to Seoul and the content of which has been revealed today by the Blue House, leader Kim Jong-un has “greatly regretted” the outcome of the “bitter” case, as well as having “disappointed” President Moon Jae -in and to the society of the neighboring country.

This apology represents an exceptional gesture for the regime, which comes to ease the growing tensions in the bilateral relationship.

The victim, an official from the Ministry of Fisheries, disappeared last Monday while sailing west of the peninsula, near the maritime border between the two countries - the disputed Northern Limit Line - aboard an official ship from which he would have jumped predictably with the intention of defecting.

As detailed yesterday by the South Korean Ministry of Defense, the military from the North found him a day later, floating adrift within its territorial waters.

After a six-hour interrogation in which they refused to give him help, they ended up shooting him and then burning his body.

President Moon referred to what happened as a "traumatic incident that should not be tolerated under any circumstances," while demanding explanations.

These have arrived today in the form of an official letter, as announced by Suh Hoon, director of national security at the Blue House.

The document has been sent by the United Front Department, the organ of the Workers' Party that manages relations with the South, and contains the conclusions of the investigations carried out by the North Korean authorities.

The account of the events, however, differs in several points from the version offered by Seoul.

According to the letter, the man did not answer the questionnaire honestly and tried to flee when the sailors fired two warning shots.

As a result, they opened fire on him.

As they approached they found a lot of blood but they did not find the body, so they burned the afloat objects to comply with the emergency protocol against the pandemic imposed by the country.

North Korea has recognized that the case "should not have happened," so it has instructed its military personnel to establish a mechanism to record the activities of border patrols, in order to avoid that "minor errors produce major misunderstandings."

This "regrettable" incident should not be repeated so as not to undermine "trust and respect" between the two countries, the document added.

However, she has also criticized the South for making a "one-sided" announcement, using what she considers inaccurate information and aggressive language.

For his part, South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young, the man at the forefront of diplomacy with the North, has valued the apology offered by Kim as something "very exceptional."

"As far as I know, there is no precedent for the North to issue a statement quickly and apologizing up to two times," he declared today during a session of the National Assembly.

The publication of the full text by South Korea is also an unusual move, with which it seeks to calm the controversy generated by the case.

Also today, the recent epistolary exchange maintained by the leaders of both countries has been known, loaded with kind words and good intentions.

The latest of these communications is Kim's response to a letter sent by Moon on September 8.

In his lines, the North Korean leader expresses his best wishes because of the pandemic and the successive impact of several typhoons, taking charge of the "enormous weight" that the president carries;

"Difficulties, pressures and efforts" that he understands better than anyone, he assures.

"Once again, I wish with emphasis that the precious health and happiness of the compatriots of the South will be maintained (...) I sincerely wish the well-being of the whole world," said the dictator goodbye.