**South Korea has protested to North Korea after an apparent dam discharge from the North created a flash flood that swept away six people.**Rescuers are still searching for the victims after floodwater hit five campers and a fishermen on Sunday.
Seoul has demanded an explanation and called on its neighbour to give prior warning of any dam water releases.
The incident happened as cross-border ties were improving after more than a year of tensions.
“The government has expressed regret that a North Korean dam along the Imjin River released water yesterday without prior notice and caused big damage, including six of our citizens going missing,” South Korea’s unification ministry said.
Thousands of troops have been mobilised to search for the missing. Rescuers reportedly found the dead body of one of those missing.
Unintended consequences
Members of South Korea’s ruling Grand National Party have demanded an apology for the discharge, describing it as “an unpardonable criminal act”.
“At this point, we still wouldn’t quite call it a water assault”
South Korean defence ministry spokesman
When North Korea first broke ground on a major dam in 1986, South Korea was preparing for its hosting of the 1988 Olympics and expressed fears that dam water could be released to deluge the South.
However, Seoul said on Monday that it did not view the latest incident as deliberately provocative.
“At this point, we still wouldn’t quite call it a water assault,” defence ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told a briefing. “There has to be intention present for us to be able to do that.”
North Korean dams have previously released water without prior announcement, damaging agriculture south of the border. Sunday’s incident was the first to claim lives.
South Korea’s unification ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said the South was requesting an explanation from the North and had “strongly urged” North Korea not to repeat similar incidents.
The North last month freed five South Korean detainees, eased border curbs, and sent envoys from Pyongyang for talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
Although the cause of the flood has not been confirmed, the BBC’s John Sudworth says concerns have been raised in the past that North Korean dams could cause both droughts and floods in the South, depending on the time of year.