South Korea will toughen penalties for illegal drone flights and move to restore a no-fly zone near the border to prevent inter-Korean incidents, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young announced Wednesday, formally expressing regret to North Korea over alleged drone incursions.

Following a meeting with security-related ministers, the Lee Jae Myung administration decided to issue an official response to Pyongyang’s Jan. 10 accusation that South Korean drones had violated its airspace, Chung said at a briefing on the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The unification minister outlined a series of legal and policy steps to prevent further incidents.

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