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| 2026-04-07 14:51:13
(LEAD) S Korea-drone flights
(LEAD) Lee's voicing regret over drone flights into N. Korea shows his willingness to restore trust: top aide
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES with more details throughout)
SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung's recent expression of regret over drone flights by individuals into North Korea demonstrated his "strong" will to restore trust between the two Koreas and ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Lee's chief of staff said Tuesday.
Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik made the remarks at a press briefing a day after Lee expressed his regret at a Cabinet meeting over the drone incidents causing unnecessary military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In a swift response, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement late Monday that read North Korea's head of state called Lee "frank and broad-minded."
"As the top official in charge of state affairs, President Lee expressed his strong will to restore trust between the two Koreas and voiced the need to ease military tensions," Kang said.
But the top aide dismissed as "groundless" speculation that Lee expressed the regret with intent to send a special envoy to North Korea.
"It is more important than ever to stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula during this crisis," Kang said. "Lee has long thought that the two Koreas need to open a door sometime that has closed for a long time."
Touching on Kim Yo-jong's statement on Lee's regret, Kang declined to give his assessment.
Earlier in the day, the unification ministry assessed North Korea's swift response to Lee's expression of regret over the drone flights as "meaningful progress" toward peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
"In regard to (the need) to halt acts that raise unnecessary military tensions, the leaders of the two Koreas swiftly affirmed their intents and communicated with each other, "a ministry official said.
"We've assessed this as meaningful progress toward the establishment of peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."
The official stressed there is no reason for South and North Korea to be hostile to each other, vowing that the government will not take any hostile act toward the North and seek a policy of promoting peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
Sources said Kim's statement indicated the leaders of the two Koreas indirectly communicated with each other over the need to stop acts that heighten military tensions on the peninsula.
In Kim's latest statement, North Korea called Lee "president of the Republic of Korea." It is believed to be the first time that the North used Lee's official title since the Lee government took office in June last year.
In late 2023, the North's leader declared inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other," vowing not to seek reconciliation and unification with South Korea.
Experts said North Korea's swift response to Lee's remarks appears to indicate that Pyongyang still attaches importance to inter-Korean relations despite its hostile stance toward Seoul.
In Kim's statement, North Korea showed a positive reaction to Lee's regret, but it also called on South Korea to "refrain from any attempt at contact," effectively rejecting the possibility of resuming inter-Korean dialogue.
North Korea earlier accused the South of sending drones into the North between last September and January, warning that Seoul will "pay a high price" over what it called a provocation.
Following months of investigation, three individuals -- a graduate student in his 30s, an employee of the National Intelligence Service and a military officer -- were indicted last week over flying drones into North Korea.
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