South Korea’s president has issued an unusually direct expression of regret to North Korea after privately operated drones crossed the border, in a move that underscores rising tensions and concern over unauthorised provocations on the Korean peninsula, Korean media reported on Tuesday.
President Lee Jae-myung has expressed regret to North Korea following incidents in which privately operated drones crossed into its territory. The president had previously criticised such launches near the border on several occasions.
“It is deeply regrettable that individuals independently carried out such provocative acts against North Korea,” Lee said during a cabinet meeting, according to the Yonhap News Agency. He described the actions as unacceptable.
According to the newspaper The Chosun Ilbo, this marks the first time a South Korean president has directly expressed regret to Pyongyang over a drone-related incident. On March 1, Lee warned that drone incursions into North Korean territory posed a “serious threat” to peace on the Korean peninsula. In January, he stated that launching drones towards the North could be tantamount to an act of war.
Last week, South Korean prosecutors charged three individuals accused of launching drones across the border between September 2025 and January 2026. The defendants include a 30-year-old postgraduate student, an employee of the National Intelligence Service, and a military officer.
North Korea also accused South Korea of sending drones towards its border on January 13. On January 3, a drone flew near the South Korean city of Icheon before entering North Korean airspace, where it was shot down.
