Suspected North Korea dam water release prompts South Koreans to evacuate

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea seems to have launched water from a dam close to its border with South Korea, prompting vacationers within the neighbouring nation to evacuate over rising water ranges on the Imjin River, officers stated on Tuesday.

The water degree at a bridge on the river within the South’s border county of Yeoncheon surpassed 1 metre on Monday afternoon, requiring guests on the riverbank to evacuate, authorities knowledge confirmed.

“North Korea seems to have launched water from its Hwanggang dam,” an official at South Korea’s unification ministry dealing with inter-Korean affairs informed Reuters.

The Yeoncheon county stated it despatched alarm messages to close by residents and issued warnings to maneuver to a secure space.

It was not instantly clear how many individuals needed to go away after the suspected water launch.

“The water degree is now reducing after hovering over 1.6 metres,” a Yeoncheon county official stated.

North Korea has been stepping up efforts to stop flood injury from latest heavy rains.

South Korea has repeatedly urged the North to offer discover earlier than releasing water from the dam, because the river flows by way of Yeoncheon, however Pyongyang has remained unresponsive.

Launch of water from the dam in 2009 resulted in flooding downstream that killed six South Koreans.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi. Enhancing by Gerry Doyle)