South Korea has issued an apology to its citizens after failing to shoot down several North Korean drones that crossed the border earlier this week, acknowledging that the incident stoked fears among the public while vowing a more aggressive response in the future.

Lieutenant General Kang Shin-chul, the chief director of operations for the South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), commented on the drone breach in a statement on Tuesday, noting flaws in Seoul’s military preparedness.

“We feel sorry that although our military detected and tracked the drones, we failed to shoot them down,” he said, adding, “in the end, we have caused much public concern due to insufficiency in the military readiness posture.”