North Korea says South Korea acted wisely on drone issue

SEOUL: North Korea said on Monday it was "very fortunate and wise" for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to convey regret to Pyongyang for drone incursions in a rare conciliatory gesture toward its rival it had antagonised in recent years.

Lee earlier on Monday expressed regret over at least two incidents of drone incursions across the border that he said had been carried out by civilians violating government policy, calling it an act of "revolt" against their own country.

Pyongyang has said that drones sent from the South had violated its airspace, accusing Seoul of a serious provocation and saying it had shot them down. "Our government appreciated it as a very fortunate and wise behaviour for its own sake," Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, said in a statement carried by KCNA state news agency, referring to Lee's remarks.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un considered it "a manifestation of a frank and broad-minded man's attitude," she said. Kim Yo Jong often makes comments on Pyongyang's external policy matters believed to reflect her brother's views.