Row erupts as South Korea’s president says he wants to sa...

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East Asia

Row erupts as South Korea’s president says he wants to say sorry to North Korea

There are claims that South Korea flew drones and propaganda balloons over the border

Kim Tong-Hyung,Hyung-Jin KimThursday 04 December 2025 10:11 GMTComments

CloseRelated: South Korea activist sends propaganda aross border to North Korea

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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is weighing a possible apology to North Korea over suspicions that his predecessor intentionally sought to raise military tensions between the war-divided rivals.

Mr Lee, who won a snap election after former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief declaration of martial law and subsequent removal from office, has stressed his desire to repair ties with his country’s northern neighbour.

In November, a special prosecutor indicted Yoon and two of his top defence officials over claims that the former president ordered drone flights over North Korea to stoke tensions.

South Korean media have also reported that under Yoon’s presidency, South Korea’s military flew balloons across the border carrying propaganda leaflets.

The allegations have yet to be proven in court.

However, Mr Lee still said he personally wishes to apologise to North Korea.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a news conference to mark the first anniversary of the December 2024 martial law crisis

open image in gallerySouth Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a news conference to mark the first anniversary of the December 2024 martial law crisis (AP)

“I do think we need to apologise, but I haven’t been able to say so because I worry it could be used to smear (me) as pro-North Korean or spark political ideological battles” in South Korea, he said.

“That’s all I will say for the time being.”

The main opposition People Power Party criticised Mr Lee’s comments as politically divisive and urged him to safeguard the military’s honor.

North Korea publicly accused Yoon’s government of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. South Korea’s military has declined to confirm the claims.

Since taking office in June, Mr Lee has taken proactive steps to ease inter-Korean tensions, including turning off frontline loudspeakers that blared K-pop and world news and banning activists from flying balloons carrying propaganda leaflets toward North Korea.

Pyongyang has so far ignored Mr Lee’s overtures, with leader Kim Jong Un saying his government has no interest in dialogue with Seoul.

South Korean soldiers removing loudspeakers that were set up for propaganda broadcasts near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas

open image in gallerySouth Korean soldiers removing loudspeakers that were set up for propaganda broadcasts near the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas (South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP)

Mr Lee lamented North Korea's stance but promised to continue to make peace gestures. He said the suspension of regular South Korea-US military drills, which North Korea views as invasion rehearsals, could be an option to consider to convince Pyongyang to return to talks.

When asked about how his government would bring back South Korean nationals detained in North Korea in the past decade or so, Mr Lee baffled many when he said had never heard of those cases and asked his national security director, “Is it correct that (South) Korean nationals are being held?”

He later said he lacked “specific information since this happened a long time ago” and would need more details before commenting.

At least six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea, three of whom were Christian missionaries involved in covert efforts to spread Christianity in the North.

They were arrested in 2013 or 2014 before being convicted of plotting to overthrow North Korea's government and spying for Seoul, and sentenced to hard labour for life.

The other three are North Korean-born defectors who had resettled in the South, and little is known about their arrests.

“My heart is aching. I think President Lee has little interests” in the detainees, said Kim Jeong-sam, the brother of one of the jailed missionaries, Kim Jung Wook.

“I still pray for my brother's safe return at least three times a day.”

Choi Jin-young, the son of jailed missionary Choi Chun-kil, said he remains perplexed and disappointed. He said he feels sad when he thinks about his father, who is likely in a prison with extremely poor conditions.

Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, a legal analyst at the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group, said it is “unbelievable” for Mr Lee to say he does not know about the issue.

“As president of our country, he should have known this and agonised how to resolve it, though it would be difficult to resolve it anytime soon,” he said.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said that the government has been striving to bring back its detained nationals in North Korea via dialogue. The ministry said that South Korea raised the issue of detainees during high-level talks with North Korea in 2018, a period of temporary détente between the rivals.

All forms of talks between the Koreas have been stalled since 2019 amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Yoon is now jailed and standing trial on rebellion charges and other suspected crimes after his brief takeover attempt.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the former president repeated his earlier claim that martial law was a necessary move against the liberals who “sought to paralyse state affairs and undermine the free constitutional order”.