'I am really sorry': Kim Jong-un weeps and issues rare apology over failings

North Korean leaderKim Jong-un shed tears and issued a rare apology for his failure to guide his country properly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at the military parade organised to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim Jong-un said“Our people have placed trust, as high as the sky and as deep as the sea, in me, but I have failed to always live up to it satisfactorily. I am really sorry for that.''

“Although I am entrusted with the important responsibility to lead this country upholding the cause of the great comrades Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il thanks to the trust of all the people, my efforts and sincerity have not been sufficient enough to rid our people of the difficulties in their lives,'' Kim added while citing his father and grandfather.

Mixed signals

South Korean officials have seized on conciliatory comments by North Korean leaderKimJongUn on the weekend as a sign that tension could be easing but also worry the huge number of rockets he showcased is evidence that peace may be elusive.

South Korean ruling party leader and former prime minister Lee Nak-yon said he took hope fromKim's overture to the South as a "positive sign" but worried about what the display of new weapons said about North Korea's intentions.

"North Korea showed advanced weapons including a new ICBM, which indicated it has not abandoned its resolve to develop weapons of mass destruction, and those weapons can threaten peace on the Korean peninsula," Lee told a party meeting.

November's USelection is compounding the uncertainty especially as the tone of ties between the two Koreas is often set by the state of North Korea's relations with its old enemy the United States.

When a landmark summit betweenKimand USPresident Donald Trump in 2018 brought an unprecedented easing of tension between those two countries, North Korea's dealings with South Korea also saw a remarkable thaw.

But relations on the peninsula have been tense since a second summit betweenKimand Trump collapsed last year, and they took another blow last month when North Korean troops shot dead a South Korean fisheries official detained at sea.

'Crocodile tears'

Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy in Seoul, said despiteKim's conciliatory comments towards South Korea, his main message on Saturday was aimed at the United States.

"By showing a new ICBM, the North suggested they can test it any time if things don't go well after the election. Inter-Korean ties don't count to them," Shin said.

The South Korean government saidKim's speech would foster better ties but it urged North Korea to stick to agreements preventing armed clashes and accept a request for a joint investigation into the shooting of the fisheries official.

South Korean opposition leaderKimderided a teary display byKimas he spoke of the sacrifices made by North Korea's armed forces.

"It was appalling to see him shed crocodile tears after shooting our citizen to death," he said.