Seoul blasts North Korea over deadly flood
- Source: Global Times
- [01:59 September 08 2009]
- Comments
South Korean rescue workers carry the body of a victim yesterday after a flash flood on the Imjin River near the Demilitarized Zone, 62 kilometers north of Seoul. Photo: AFP
South Korea criticized North Korea yesterday after a wall of water was suddenly released from a dam in the North, creating a flood that swept away six people south of the border.
The floodwaters hit five campers and a fisherman early Sunday after water was released from the dam into the Imjin River that crosses the frontier, briefly swelling it to twice its normal depth.
"The government has expressed regret that a North Korean dam along the Imjin River released water yesterday without prior notice and caused huge damage, including six of our citizens going missing," the South’s unification ministry said.
Seoul demanded an explanation and called on its neighbor to give prior warning the next time such a situation occurs.
The incident threatened to cast a shadow over relations that had lately been improving after more than a year of tensions. The North last month freed five South Korean detainees, eased border curbs and sent envoys for talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
In an unusually quick response, Pyongyang later yesterday blamed a sudden surge in water levels for the discharge, according to the unification ministry.
In a message sent through an inter-Korean hot line, the North promised to give prior warning to the South if dam water is released in the future, the ministry said in a statement.
However, Seoul was not impressed with that answer.
"We deeply regret that the North Korean notice was not sufficient enough to convince us, and it had no mention of the loss of human lives on our side," the unification ministry was quoted by South Korean news agency Yonhap as saying.
AFP
