By Kim Young-jin
Staff reporter
North Korea has apparently begun discharging water from a dam near the inter-Korean border, officials here said Monday.
The North released the water into the Imjin River, which flows into the South, at a rate of 1,000 tons per second, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs in Seoul said, citing changes in water levels at the border. No damage was reported.
Seoul downplayed speculation that Pyongyang’s prior notification of its plan could have been aimed at easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which have been soaring since the North torpedoed the warship Cheonan in March near the disputed western sea border, killing 46 sailors.
On Sunday, the North informed the South through military channels of a possible discharge, saying torrential rain that has hit the peninsula could force it to open sluice gates. The government quickly ordered campers to evacuate riverside campsites and made other preparations for the release.
The notification made good on a promise by the North, made after its unannounced discharge of 40 million tons of water last September unleashed flash floods in the South. Six South Koreans camping near the border drowned as a result.
After the incident, Pyongyang said the discharge had been unavoidable due to dangerously high water levels caused by heavy rain, but later apologized and made the notification pledge.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung warned against jumping to conclusions over the cooperation.
“The government believes it is not appropriate to over-interpret the notification in any way under the current inter-Korean circumstances,” he told reporters.
The peninsula has been slammed by rain for the past few days, raising the water levels of major rivers. The North’s state-run media reported Sunday that as much as 143 millimeters of rain had already fallen near the border city of Gaeseong.
Tensions between the two Koreas remain high after Seoul’s efforts to censure Pyongyang for the sinking of the Cheonan at the U.N. Security Council resulted in a presidential statement that fell short of directly blaming the North. China, the latter’s major ally, blocked efforts for stronger measures.
After the mild statement, the North quickly expressed its desire to kickstart the stalled six party-talks on denuclearization. But Seoul dismissed the offer as an attempt to deflect international attention from the ship sinking.