Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Will Pyongyang respond to Seoul’s urgent call for dam discharge warning?
Water gushes through the gates of Gunnam Dam on the Imjin River, which runs across the inter-Korean border, in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Defense minister nominee pledges ‘multitrack’ peace approach to North Korea
All eyes are on whether North Korea will respond to South Korea’s annual request for advance notice before releasing water from a dam near the inter-Korean border during the summer monsoon season.
The Ministry of Unification issued the appeal Friday — an annual request Pyongyang has routinely ignored since 2013.
This year’s developments could provide an early indication of North Korea’s readiness to reengage, as the Lee Jae Myung administration signals a new emphasis on dialogue after years of stalemate.
"The Lee Jae Myung administration recognizes that protecting the lives and safety of our people is the state’s most fundamental responsibility. Advance notification from North Korea about dam water discharges is directly related to the safety of South Korean residents living near the border," the unification ministry's deputy spokesperson Chang Yoon-jeong said during a televised briefing.
Noting that joint responses to natural disasters are humanitarian in nature, Chang urged the North to cooperate during the upcoming monsoon season and to provide advance notice before discharging water from the Hwanggang Dam, located upstream of the Imjin River.
With all formal inter-Korean communication channels cut off in recent years, the ministry has been left to deliver its messages to Pyongyang through public press briefings. North Korea demolished the inter-Korean liaison office in June 2020 and severed the remaining lines of contact in April 2023.
The issue of North Korea's unannounced dam water releases has long been a concern for Seoul.
In 2009, six residents in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, died when the North released water from the Hwanggang Dam without warning.
Following the tragedy, Pyongyang agreed to provide advance notice, but according to the unification ministry, it has done so only three times since, most recently in 2013.
How Pyongyang responds this year could serve as an early indicator of the trajectory of inter-Korean relations under Lee, who is shifting away from the hardline North Korean policies of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol.
In recent weeks, the Lee administration has taken several steps aimed at reviving cross-border engagement. Earlier this month, the unification ministry approved three requests by civic groups for humanitarian and cultural contact with North Korean residents, marking a sharp departure from the previous administration's de facto ban on civilian exchanges.
South Korea's military halted its loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts toward the North, a move Pyongyang reportedly reciprocated by switching off its own loudspeakers.
Defense Minister nominee Ahn Gyu-back speaks to reporters as he arrives at his office in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
Efforts to reengage with North Korea are expected to continue, as Defense Minister nominee Ahn Gyu-back pledged to explore the best way for the two Koreas to live peacefully.
"Even during wartime, dialogue continues," Ahn told reporters during an impromptu briefing on his way to the office Friday. "Eisenhower negotiated with China and North Korea to reach an armistice. Nixon engaged with the Soviet Union and led it toward openness through dialogue. Dialogue is essential."
When asked about the possible restoration of the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement — a 2018 tension reduction pact signed under President Moon Jae-in that was later scrapped by the Yoon government — Ahn adopted a cautious stance.
During his campaign, Lee said he would revive the military agreement to prevent clashes along the border.
"North Korea is both our enemy and our compatriot," Ahn said. "We need a multitrack approach in dealing with the North. Rather than restoring the agreement immediately, we should carefully review the situation and conditions to determine the most effective way for the two Koreas to live in peace."