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Seoul: DPRK dam discharge 'intentional'

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-10 10:55

Special Warfare Command soldiers from the Republic of Korea dive to search for missing people swept away by a sudden rise in water levels, in the Imjin River near the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in Yeoncheon, about 62 km (39 miles) north of Seoul, September 7, 2009. [Agencies]

SEOUL: The Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) may intentionally caused a deadly flood by discharging water from a dam, which killed six ROK citizens.

Addressing a session of the National Assembly's Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said "I think the North (DPRK) did it intentionally."

Related readings:  ROK asks DPRK to apologize for flooding  ROK protests over DPRK dam discharge  DPRK says uranium program near completion  On DPRK holiday, US adds new sanctions  Seoul sees DPRK's overtures as tactical changes

Hyun is the first ROK official who publicly accused the DPRK of deliberately causing the accident.

Seoul believed that the DPRK intentionally discharged some 40 million tons of water from its Hwanggang Dam into a cross-border river Sunday, he said, without giving further details, according local media.

Seoul had previously said it was looking at the case with all possibilities open.

The DPRK on Monday gave the explanation that a sudden increase of water in its border dam prompted a massive discharge, and promised to issue alerts in the future to prevent similar accident from happening.

However, Seoul expressed deep regret toward Pyongyang's response, saying that the DPRK's notice "is not sufficient enough to convince us" and demanded an apology and a further explanation. The government also carried out investigations to determine the exact cause of the accident and analyse the DPRK's intention.

Meanwhile, ROK rescue authorities on Wednesday announced that the bodies of all six victims had been recovered after days of massive search operations. Three bodies have been found on Monday while the others on Wednesday, officials said.

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