MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2023) North Korea is not responding to South Korea's requests to give it a warning prior to a water release from a dam located on the border between the two countries to minimize flooding risks from heavy rains, the South Korean Unification Ministry said on Friday.
"The government requested North Korea on June 30 to give prior notice in case it releases dam water but there has not been any response so far," Lee Hyo-jung, the ministry's deputy spokesman, was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying.
Seoul will use other channels of communication to contact Pyongyang on the issue and deal with unexpected events if they occur, Lee added.
North Korea agreed to warn its neighbor about plans to open the Hwanggang dam's floodgates on the Imjin River after an incident in October 2009 when the release of water from the dam was carried out without warning and caused a surge in water levels, resulting in the deaths of six South Korean citizens. Since 2011, North Korea has opened the floodgates several times without warning, the latest being in July 2022.
The rainy season began earlier in July on the Korean peninsula, leaving around 4,000 households in Seoul without electricity already and forcing over 130 people to evacuate, Yonhap reported.
