(2nd LD) S. Korea protests North's dam discharge that leaves six dead, missing

(ATTN: MODIFIES lead, UPDATES with official's remarks on presumed origin of dam
water, conservatives' criticism, expert's view on Seoul's response)
By Kim Hyun and Sam Kim
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea demanded an explanation from North Korea
on Monday about its unannounced discharge of dam water that left six people dead
or missing, a new thorn in recovering inter-Korean relations.
The victims, camping or fishing along a western river, were swept away early
Sunday morning after North Korea released a large quantity of dam water without
prior notice.
"Our government expressed regrets" and asked the North to give an explanation
about the incident, Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said in a press
briefing. He said Seoul also "strongly pressed" Pyongyang to give alert messages
in the future to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
North Korea has yet to respond to the protest letter sent through an inter-Korean
hotline, officials said.
North Korea's unannounced water discharges have occasionally caused damage to
fish farms and riverside areas downstream of the Imjin River, which runs across
the inter-Korean border in the west, since the North began building dams in upper
waters in 2000. The latest incident, however, is the first where lives were lost.
Three people were found dead Monday morning, while the others were still missing.
Military officials from South Korea and the United States were working together
to determine whether the discharge of some 40 million tons of water was
deliberate or unintentionally caused by summer downpours. South Korean defense
spokesman Won Tae-jae said there was "no sign yet" indicating the incident was a
deliberate attack.
South Korea's alert system was also faulted. Won said an army guard reported
rising water levels early Sunday morning, but the military command failed to
notify the local government, leaving the campers unattended. Flood alert
equipment along the riverside also failed to operate at the time of the incident.
"It appears that the combined civilian and military defense system has not
practiced a scenario like this before," the ministry spokesman said.
The discharge took a heavy toll on weekend vacationers. Five of the victims,
including an 8-year-old boy and his father, were camping 25km south of the
demilitarized zone that bisects the Koreas, while the other was fishing 38km away
from the border when they were swept away, according to the Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs that oversees flood-related issues.
Separately, police found the body of what appeared to be a North Korean boy, aged
four or five, that drifted to the South on Sunday.
Seoul officials believe the discharge originated from the Hwanggan Dam, some 40km
north of the border, which was reportedly completed in 2007 to produce
electricity and provide water for agricultural and industrial purposes. It is
said to be able to hold up to 400 million tons of water. Other North Korean dams
along the Imjin River are too small to have caused Sunday's incident, said Lee
Jae-wook, a spokesman for the state-run Korea Water Resources Corp.
The incident has reignitied criticism of North Korea among conservatives in the
South. Inter-Korean relations had shown signs of improvement last month with a
string of conciliatory steps by the North.
"If the North discharged the water without a warning because it doesn't care
whether campers in the South die, that would be an inhumane provocation," Ahn
Sang-soo, floor leader of the ruling Grand National Party, said.
Some watchers were critical of the way South Korea responded. Apart from the
failure in its alert systems, the government stopped short of proposing
inter-Korean dialogue over the recurring floodwaters.
"The South Korean government, instead of actively seeking solutions through
dialogue, is appealing to the North for a positive response. I wonder how much
this kind of approach will move the North," Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea
expert with the non-governmental Sejong Institute, said.
The Koreas have no formal accord on controlling the floodgates. At inter-Korean
talks in recent years, Seoul has repeatedly asked for pre-notification, but the
two sides have not been able to settle on technical procedures.
Responding to a protest letter from Seoul in 2005 when a water discharge from the
North swept away South Korean fishing nets, Pyongyang explained that its dam
water is "naturally released when it reaches the maximum height," according to
the Unification Ministry.
There have been no consultations on the matter since the conservative Lee
Myung-bak government came to power in Seoul last year.
hkim@yna.co.kr
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)