By The South Asia Times

SEOUL - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday praised South Korea's unification minister for expressing regret over alleged drone incursions into the North's airspace, but warned that any future violation of sovereignty would provoke a "terrible response" beyond proportionality.

Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party Central Committee, issued a statement through the Korean Central News Agency saying she considered Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's expression of regret on February 10 "quite sensible behavior."

But she made clear that words alone were insufficient.

"The ROK authorities are required to take preventive measures to surely guarantee that such serious infringement of sovereignty as violating the airspace of our Republic would never happen again, instead of seeking to gloss over with such mere expression of regret the crisis they brought," Kim said.

Pyongyang has claimed that drones infiltrated its airspace on two occasions -- January 4 and September of last year -- originating from South Korean territory. While Seoul has not officially confirmed or denied the operations, Chung acknowledged the concerns during remarks at a Catholic Mass earlier this week.

Kim dismissed as irrelevant questions of who operated the drones or whether they were deployed by civilians or the state.

"What we take seriously is just the fact that a ROK-borne drone violated the airspace of our country, a grave encroachment of our sovereignty," she said.

Her warning carried unmistakable weight. Kim Yo Jong is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the North Korean hierarchy and has delivered some of Pyongyang's most pointed threats in recent years, including during the 2020 inter-Korean liaison office crisis.

"Various counterattack plans are on the table and one of them will be chosen without doubt," she said. "It will go beyond proportionality."

South Korea's presidential office responded cautiously, with a senior official expressing hope that the exchange could become a starting point for rebuilding trust.

"The two Koreas need to restore trust by easing tensions through mutual communication," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Both sides should refrain from actions that undermine the precious peace between them."

The exchange marks a rare moment of direct communication between the rivals, whose relations have languished amid North Korea's accelerating weapons tests and the conservative-leaning administration of President Lee Jae-myung's efforts to resume dialogue.

Analysts said Kim's statement appeared calibrated -- acknowledging Seoul's gesture while raising pressure for concrete security assurances.