(2nd LD) 6 S. Koreans go missing in river near border

(ATTN: ADDS info on N Korea's dams, other background in 6-7th para, at bottom)
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- Six South Koreans went missing Sunday while camping
along a river near the border with North Korea, apparently swept away by a
discharge of water from a dam in the North, police and rescue workers said.

The victims, including one child, disappeared earlier in the day while they were
camping at riverside sites in Yeoncheon, about 60km northeast of Seoul and
downstream of the Imjin River, they said.
Backed by two helicopters, police and rescue workers were patrolling the site to
search for the missing.
North Korea probably released water from a dam, causing the river's water levels
to surge suddenly, police said, adding that almost no rain has fallen in the area
in recent days.
Police officers said they were investigating the cause of the accident.
The Imjin River originates in the North and flows alongside the inter-Korean
border into the West Sea. The North reportedly has built or is building 5 mostly
small-sized dams along the course of the river.
Since its first dam was constructed, the communist nation has periodically
discharged water to adjust the dam's storage levels without prior notice to South
Korea, causing damage to fish farmers in Yeoncheon and neighboring areas every
year.
Meanwhile, police said they also discovered the body of a boy that apparently
drifted from the North. The child -- presumably aged around four or five -- was
wearing a black shirt, his trousers having slipped off before he was found along
the river. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War
ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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