By Yi Whan-woo
Factories at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea could stop operating due to a severe water shortage caused by a drought, a lawmaker claimed Wednesday.
Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said at a parliamentary audit session that the daily amount of water provided to the inter-Korean industrial park has been cut from 9,000 to 5,000 tons since December 2014, citing data from the Ministry of Unification.
Shim, a member of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, attributed the decrease to the "worst drought of the century in the North since 2014."
The annual amount of rainfall in Gaeseong plunged from 1,406.5 millimeters in 2013 to 441.8 millimeters in 2014, far below the yearly average of 1,167.6 millimeters since 1995.
The amount of rainfall in the city stood at 371.1 millimeters between January and July.
The supply of water to the GIC comes from a nearby reservoir. And only 37 percent of the reservoir was filled in September, according to Shim.
Pointing out that the average rate of water capacity in South Korea is 44 percent, the lawmaker said the water supply rate to the GIC could go down to below the 10-percent range in summer.
Meanwhile, the unification ministry said the decrease in the water supply to the GIC does not pose a threat to plants there.
"It's true the amount of water being supplied to the GIC has been reduced," ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said during a regular media briefing, Wednesday. "But the factories there are still operating as usual. The amount of water stored is sufficient enough for them to run even if there is no rain at all in Gaeseong for the next year."
Jeong also denied speculation that the government may supplement the water supply from the Sachon River by the GIC during emergencies.
The unification ministry is the de-facto management body of the GIC in coordination with the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation in Seoul.
Shim raised concerns that the government's possible measure may destroy the ecosystem at the river, which flows across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and wildlife in the DMZ.
Factories at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea could stop operating due to a severe water shortage caused by a drought, a lawmaker claimed Wednesday.
Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said at a parliamentary audit session that the daily amount of water provided to the inter-Korean industrial park has been cut from 9,000 to 5,000 tons since December 2014, citing data from the Ministry of Unification.
Shim, a member of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, attributed the decrease to the "worst drought of the century in the North since 2014."
The annual amount of rainfall in Gaeseong plunged from 1,406.5 millimeters in 2013 to 441.8 millimeters in 2014, far below the yearly average of 1,167.6 millimeters since 1995.
The amount of rainfall in the city stood at 371.1 millimeters between January and July.
The supply of water to the GIC comes from a nearby reservoir. And only 37 percent of the reservoir was filled in September, according to Shim.
Pointing out that the average rate of water capacity in South Korea is 44 percent, the lawmaker said the water supply rate to the GIC could go down to below the 10-percent range in summer.
Meanwhile, the unification ministry said the decrease in the water supply to the GIC does not pose a threat to plants there.
"It's true the amount of water being supplied to the GIC has been reduced," ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said during a regular media briefing, Wednesday. "But the factories there are still operating as usual. The amount of water stored is sufficient enough for them to run even if there is no rain at all in Gaeseong for the next year."
Jeong also denied speculation that the government may supplement the water supply from the Sachon River by the GIC during emergencies.
The unification ministry is the de-facto management body of the GIC in coordination with the Gaeseong Industrial District Foundation in Seoul.
Shim raised concerns that the government's possible measure may destroy the ecosystem at the river, which flows across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and wildlife in the DMZ.
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