South Korea’s Lee expresses regret to North Korea over drone incursion

Lee said an investigation by South Korean authorities found that a National Intelligence Service employee and an active-duty military official were involved in the case, adding that the constitution forbade individual acts of provocation against North Korea.

Pyongyang said in January that drones sent from the South had violated its airspace, accusing Seoul of a serious provocation and saying it had shot them down.

South Korea denied any military involvement and launched a joint military-police probe, which led prosecutors to indict a South Korean man in his 30s on charges including violating aviation and national security laws over the unauthorised drone flights, according to authorities.

North Korea, in recent months, has declared South Korea as its most hostile state and rebuffed outreach efforts by Lee’s administration.