ID :
78675
Sun, 09/06/2009 - 19:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/78675
The shortlink copeid
6 S. Koreans go missing in river near border
(ATTN: UPDATES at bottom with Unification Ministry's statement on previous cases, no
inter-Korean accord on dam discharge)
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 water
discharged 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 in Yeoncheon County, about 60km northeast of Seoul, alongside the Imjin
River.
Backed by two helicopters, police and rescue workers were patrolling the site to
search for the missing.
Police said they also discovered the body of a boy that apparently drifted from
the North through the river. The child -- who appeared to be four or five years
old -- was wearing a black shirt, but his trousers had come off. The cause of
death has yet to be confirmed.
The Imjin River originates in the North and flows alongside the inter-Korean
border into the West Sea. Problems began after North Korea started building
several dams, mostly small-sized ones to produce electricity, in the area in
2000, Seoul officials said.
The North has periodically discharged water to adjust water levels without giving
prior notice to South Korea, causing damage to fish farms in Yeoncheon and
neighboring areas almost every year.
South and North Korea have no formal accord on water discharges. Seoul has
repeatedly asked for pre-notification, but Pyongyang said it cannot do so because
the water is "naturally discharged when it reaches the maximum height," according
to the Seoul's Unification Ministry.
In inter-Korean economic talks in 2005, North Korea agreed to give notification
of water discharges that year, but the promise was not fulfilled that summer,
prompting Seoul to send a protest letter.
No such consultations have been held since the conservative Lee Myung-bak
government came to power in Seoul last year.
South and North Korea remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended
with a truce, not a peace treaty.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
inter-Korean accord on dam discharge)
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 water
discharged 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 in Yeoncheon County, about 60km northeast of Seoul, alongside the Imjin
River.
Backed by two helicopters, police and rescue workers were patrolling the site to
search for the missing.
Police said they also discovered the body of a boy that apparently drifted from
the North through the river. The child -- who appeared to be four or five years
old -- was wearing a black shirt, but his trousers had come off. The cause of
death has yet to be confirmed.
The Imjin River originates in the North and flows alongside the inter-Korean
border into the West Sea. Problems began after North Korea started building
several dams, mostly small-sized ones to produce electricity, in the area in
2000, Seoul officials said.
The North has periodically discharged water to adjust water levels without giving
prior notice to South Korea, causing damage to fish farms in Yeoncheon and
neighboring areas almost every year.
South and North Korea have no formal accord on water discharges. Seoul has
repeatedly asked for pre-notification, but Pyongyang said it cannot do so because
the water is "naturally discharged when it reaches the maximum height," according
to the Seoul's Unification Ministry.
In inter-Korean economic talks in 2005, North Korea agreed to give notification
of water discharges that year, but the promise was not fulfilled that summer,
prompting Seoul to send a protest letter.
No such consultations have been held since the conservative Lee Myung-bak
government came to power in Seoul last year.
South and North Korea remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended
with a truce, not a peace treaty.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
