By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
North Korea's abrupt discharge of millions of tons of water a week ago is not seen as an intentional water attack against South Korea, a government source said Sunday, citing the results of an analysis by U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities.
Satellite photos taken before Sept. 6 have shown that water had risen to the top of the Hwanggang dam, the source said, on condition of anonymity.
"It appears that the intent was to drain water," the source said. "But we're still analyzing why North Korea released as much as 40 million tons of water in a single discharge in such pre-dawn hours of a Sunday."
Recent rains could have caused the water level to rise in the North, the source added, or one of a few dozen man-made embankments behind the Hwanggang dam may have ruptured.
The discharge of about 40 million tons of water into the Imjin River, which flows down into South Korea before reaching the West Sea, killed six South Korean citizens camping downstream.
The incident has angered South Koreans amid signs of a thaw in inter-Korean relations. Some suspect the North might have conducted a "water attack" against the South to cause difficulties for the South Korean military.
On Saturday, a lawmaker said he was told by military authorities that North Korean troops scouted the inter-Korean border a day before the water discharge.
Military authorities are checking the ulterior motive behind the reconnaissance by North Korean, he said.
The lawmaker made the remarks on the condition of anonymity after being briefed by military officials on the incident during an on-site inspection of the site along with other members of the National Assembly's defense committee, Friday.
"They reconnoitered the area of the Military Demarcation Line for about two hours before they returned to the North around 12:00 a.m.,'' the lawmaker told reporters.
North Korea has yet to respond to Seoul's call for an apology. It only said it released the water due to a sudden surge in the dam's water level and would give prior warning of future discharges.
The two Koreas, which remain technically at war, have no formal agreement on controlling floodgates.