North Korea says South’s drone regret “sensible” but insufficient

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North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, said Friday it was “sensible” for a South Korean government official to express regret over alleged civilian drone flights over North Korea, but warned that Seoul could face counterattacks if the flights recur. Kim’s comments arrived after South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Seoul sought “mutual recognition and peaceful coexistence” and had expressed “deep regret” over the alleged incidents.

Kim Yo Jong said Chung’s remarks showed “sensible behavior” yet were not enough as a government response. She said her warning applied to any further similar activities and framed future repeats as violations of North Korea’s sovereignty, using the initials of the country’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In her statement, Kim Yo Jong said, “I give advance warning that reoccurrence of such provocation as violating the inalienable sovereignty of the DPRK will surely provoke a terrible response,” according to the Associated Press report. She added, “Various counterattack plans are on the table and one of them will be chosen without doubt and it will go beyond proportionality,” without specifying the measures.

The exchange follows prior North Korean threats over drone accusations. North Korea threatened retaliation last month after accusing South Korea of launching a surveillance drone flight in September and again in January, an escalation that MSI previously covered in an earlier report.

South Korea’s government, in turn, has denied operating any drones during the times specified by North Korea. The South Korean Unification Ministry said the alleged flights ran counter to the government’s principles of reducing tensions and said it plans to take unspecified steps to prevent similar incidents, while law enforcement authorities investigated three civilians suspected of flying drones into the North from border areas.

Analysts cited in the report said North Korea’s drone accusations were likely aimed at increasing anti-South Korea sentiment ahead of the ruling Workers’ Party congress in late February. They said North Korea could also add leader Kim Jong Un’s declaration of a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula to the party constitution during the congress, the first time it would do so in five years.

The renewed threats could further dampen prospects for a push by Seoul to resume long-stalled talks with North Korea, which has maintained a deep nuclear standoff. The report also said there have been no public talks between the Koreas since 2019 and that drone flights have remained a persistent source of animosity between them.