ANKARA
South Korea urged North Korea on Friday to provide prior notice before releasing water from a dam across the border during the monsoon season amid safety concerns, local media reported.
Chang Yoon-jeong, a deputy spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, cited the protection of lives and the safety of South Korean residents in border areas as the reason for the request, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"(We) request that North Korea give advance notice when discharging water from the dam, for humanitarian purposes, to prevent flooding in border areas during the monsoon season," she said.
Chang emphasized that joint responses to natural disasters are a humanitarian matter, noting that North and South Korea have reached several agreements in the past to cooperate on flood prevention along the Imjin River, which flows from the North into the South.
The ministry’s request came just two days after South Korea's environment ministry said that the water level near Pilseung Bridge on the Imjin River just south of the inter-Korean border had risen to 1 meter due to suspected water discharge from North Korea's Hwanggang Dam. A water level of 1 meter triggers the evacuation of visitors in the river area.
Opening the floodgates of North Korea's Hwanggang Dam leads to a rise in water levels along the southern stretch of the Imjin River.
In September 2009, at least six South Koreans were killed or went missing due to flooding in Yeoncheon, which Seoul claimed was caused by the unannounced release of water from a dam.
Later, North Korea agreed to provide advance notice before future discharges and sent such notifications in 2010 and 2013. However, no further alerts have been issued since, according to the agency.