North Korea warns of naval tensions during search for slain South Korean

SEOUL:

North Korea said on Sunday it is searching for the body of South Korean official killed by its troops, but warned that South Korean naval operations in the area threatened to raise tensions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a rare apology on Friday for the fatal shooting of the South Korean fisheries official in North Korean waters.

Seoul then urged Pyongyang to further investigate the fatal shooting and suggested it could be a joint probe by the two sides. South Korea’s military has accused the North’s soldiers of killing the man, dousing his body in fuel and setting it on fire near the sea border.

North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Sunday that the country’s authorities were considering ways to hand over the body to the South if it is found.

The report called it an “awful case which should not have happened” but warned that South Korean naval operations near the site of the incident had crossed into North Korean waters.

“We urge the south side to immediately halt the intrusion across the military demarcation line in the west sea that may lead to escalation of tensions,” KCNA said.

A spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense had no immediate comment on the North’s accusations.