Kim Jong-un has made a rare public apology after killing a South Korean official and allegedly burning his body.
North Korea has expressed regret over its troops shooting a 47-year-old fisheries worker at least 10 times and then apparently setting him on fire.
The country sent a letter to South Korean President Moon Jae-in apologising for shooting the man, who went missing this week.
It is believed the man was attempting to defect to North Korea when he went missing around six miles south of the sea border between the two countries.
Citing intelligence sources, the South Korean military said the man appeared to have been questioned, before being executed on an "order from a superior authority".
Moon's security adviser Suh Hoon said the regime's despotic leader said he was "sorry" the incident disappointed the South Korean public and should not have happened.
The rare message came as Moon faced intense political fallout over the incident, which coincided with a renewed push for policy to engage Pyongyang.
The soldiers fired more than 10 shots at the South Korean fisheries official after he did not reveal his identity and tried to flee, Suh said, citing the letter.
But the letter said they burned a floatation device he was using, according to their anti-virus manuals, and not his body.
Suh said: "The troops could not locate the unidentified trespasser during a search after firing the shots, and burned the device under national emergency disease prevention measures."
The shooting shocked many South Koreans and triggered a fierce backlash from opposition lawmakers, prompting Moon to issue an unusually stringent response calling it "unpardonable."
In 2008, North Korean troops shot to death a South Korean tourist who strolled into an off-limits area while staying at a North Korean resort complex, resulting in a halt of inter-Korean
tourism projects. Moon has pledged to reopen the tour programmes.
The military announced the fishery official's death a day after Moon proposed a new regional disease control and health initiative including North Korea to cope with crises like the
coronavirus and strained ties with Pyongyang.
Moon and Kim have recently exchanged letters to share hopes to rebuild relations after tackling the coronavirus, Suh said.
