Unauthorized Discharge from North Korea's Hwanggang Dam... Ministry of Unification Says "Risk of Collapse if Discharge is Not Conducted"

Situation of Damage to the South Due to Unauthorized Discharge

Minister of Unification Lee In-young visited the Gunam Dam in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province on the 7th to inspect the site.

On the 10th, the Ministry of Unification stated that North Korea's unauthorized discharge from the Hwanggang Dam on the upper Imjin River without any prior notice to the South, which has burdened the South's water level management, is due to the "risk of collapse if the water is not discharged."

At a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office Complex on the same day, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Yeo Sang-gi said, "The Hwanggang Dam is a multipurpose dam and a complex dam composed of concrete and earth dams." He explained, "There is a situation where North Korea must discharge water regularly because there is a risk of dam collapse if overflow occurs."

At the same time, he said, "If North Korea provides prior notice to us when discharging water from the Hwanggang Dam, it would greatly help us guarantee a higher level of regional safety for residents living in the Imjin River basin."

President Moon Jae-in visited Gunnam Dam in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 6th and is seen conversing with Park Jae-hyun, President of Korea Water Resources Corporation (left), among others.

So far, the government and the ruling party have expressed regret over North Korea's unauthorized discharge from the Hwanggang Dam.

On the morning of the 6th, Minister of Unification Lee In-young said at the 316th South-North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council (Gyouchu-hyeop) meeting, "We express regret over the recent unilateral discharge measures by North Korea," adding, "Although the North must have faced difficulties due to heavy rains, we emphasize that they should have at least given us prior notice when taking discharge measures."

President Moon Jae-in also visited the Gunam Dam in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, on the same day and said, "If the North had informed us in advance about the discharge from the Hwanggang Dam, it would have greatly helped manage the water volume of the Gunam Dam, but unfortunately, that is not happening," adding, "In the past, the South and North agreed to do so, but it is not being properly implemented."

On the same day, Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, also expressed deep regret regarding North Korea's discharge from the Hwanggang Dam, calling it "a violation of inter-Korean agreements and a narrow-minded act." At a policy coordination meeting, he said, "Due to North Korea's unnotified dam discharge, emergency evacuation orders were issued, putting lives and safety at risk."

Meanwhile, the government reaffirmed its position to pursue humanitarian cooperation regardless of the political situation concerning aid to North Korea, which suffered flood damage.

Spokesperson Yeo said, "We have not specifically identified the damage situation caused by floods in the North Korean region," but added, "Basically, the government maintains the position that humanitarian cooperation should be consistently pursued regardless of political or military situations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.