Seoul, Sep 28 (IANS): South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday expressed his condolences and offered a public apology over the death of a civil servant in a shooting by North Korean troops, calling it a "regrettable and unfortunate" incident.

"Regardless of how the victim went to the North Korean waters, I offer words of deep condolences and consolation to the bereaved family members over their grief," Yonhap News Agency quoted the President as saying.

The tragedy should have not occurred despite the Peninsula being divided, he added.

This was Moon's first public statement in connection with the case that took place on September 22 just north of the western sea border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

South Korea has continued to locate the body of the 47-year-old fisheries official who was shot and killed by the North Korean troops after he drifted into their waters near the Yellow Sea border between the two sides, reports Yonhap News Agency.

While the South has said that the troops burnt the official's body, the North maintains that it was lost in the sea after he was shot.

On September 25, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered an apology for the "unexpected" and "unfortunate" incident that took place in his country's waters.