Lee expresses regret over private drone flights into N. Korea

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps.

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday expressed regret over South Korean individuals' unauthorized drone flights into North Korea, saying the actions triggered unnecessary military tensions with Pyongyang.

It was the first time that the president expressed regret over the issue. Previously, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young had made similar remarks in February.

“Although this was not the intention of our government, we express our regret to the North that unnecessary military tensions were caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of a few individuals,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting.

The remarks came after the indictment of a graduate student surnamed Oh, who was taken into custody and charged with violating the Aviation Safety Act by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on March 25.

On March 31, a joint military-police task force announced that a National Intelligence Service employee and two active-duty military officers had been referred to prosecutors for allegedly helping Oh send drones across the border between September 2025 and January 2026.

“South Korean law prohibits individuals from privately provoking the North. It is deeply regrettable that someone carried out this kind of private provocation against the North,” Lee said.

“Residents in the border regions must have been more anxious than anyone else because of this incident. I ask the relevant ministries to immediately improve the system and take enforceable measures to ensure that similar cases do not occur.”