North Korea Begins Releasing Water From Dam - Seoul Government

North Korea seems to have begun releasing water from its dam near the inter-Korean border since Sunday night, Seoul's land ministry officials said Monday.

he water is being discharged at the speed of 1,000 tonnes per second, and no damage is expected in South Korea as necessary precautionary measures are put in place, a ministry official told Xinhua news agency.

The move came a day after the North Korea notified the South Korean authorities through a military hotline that it may release water from a dam on the Imjin River in case of continued heavy rain.

Seoul's unification ministry notified government agencies including K-Water, the Han River Flood Control Office and the land ministry of the warning from the North Korea, it said on Monday.

In September last year, the North Korea released about 40 million tonnes of water from its Hwanggam dam without any prior warning to South Korea, resulting in deaths of six South Korean campers.

In October, Seoul in a working-level meeting called on its northern neighbor to warn of such a discharge in advance, and the DPRK accepted the request.