North Korea–South Korea relations

South Korean President Moon Jae said Wednesday that the country is preparing to secure more Covid-19 vaccines via technology transfer from U.S. manufacturers Novavax Inc. and Moderna, allowing the country to produce local doses and enough potential vaccines for North and South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued an apology for the death of a 47-year-old South Korean government worker, who was shot dead and his body set alight North Korean troops. The unidentified man was found floating on the sea, in the North's waters.

The apology came in the form of a letter sent to South Korea's Blue House Friday morning, which acknowledged that the incident should not have happened.

According to the Blue House, the letter read "Chairman Kim Jong Un asked to convey that he feels very sorry that instead of giving aid to our compatriots in the South who is struggling with Covid epidemic, we have given President Moon and our compatriots in the South a great disappointment with this unseen misfortune in our sea."

North Korea has blown up an inter-Korean liaison office at its border hours after threatening South Korea with military actions. The joint liaison office, located near the North Korean border town Kaesong, was opened in 2018 and was used for talks with South Korea. The explosion was confirmed by South Korea's Unification Ministry at 2:49 p.m. local time. Kim Yo-jong, sister to Kim Jong Un, had threatened the demolition of the office last weekend.

The sister of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong has announced that "By exercising my power authorized by the supreme leader, our party and the state, I gave an instruction to the arms of the department in charge of the affairs with the enemy to decisively carry out the next action" and adding that it would be time to break with the authorities of South Korea. Kim Yo Jong has not specified that the next action would be that she instructed to be carried out.

North Korea announced Tuesday it would cut off all communication channels with South Korea, including a hotline between the two countries' leaders. Pyongyang decided to escalate its pressure on the South for not stopping activists from floating anti-regime leaflets across their tense border.

South Korea's government repeated that it would work toward restoring peace on the Korean Peninsula. North and South Korea are technically still at war because no peace agreement was reached when the Korean War ended in 1953.

On Sunday, North Korean soldiers fired gunshots at the wall of South Korean guard post at the countries' DMZ, Demilitarized Zone. According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, no one was injured. South Korea broadcasted a verbal warning and returned fire twice. As of now, the reason behind the fire exchange is unclear.