North Korea releases water from border dam without notice

SEOUL, July 6 (UPI) -- North Korea discharged water from a border dam, the second time it has done so in two months without giving prior notice to the South.

The water from the North's Hwanggang Dam was discharged on Wednesday, but the South experienced little damage, local news service News 1 reported.

The amount of water discharged was relatively low and Seoul has learned from past cases on how to cope with unexpected floods from the North.

Water levels rose up to two meters at the Imjin River station at Victory Bridge, according to military officials, but the situation stabilized and the North did not send more water downstream.

"[The North] began gradually opening the floodgates around 6 a.m.," an unidentified South Korean military official told local newspaper Maeil Business. "There were no notifications from the North."

Military authorities sent alerts to the South Korean county of Yeoncheon and the Korea Water Resources Corp., the government agency overseeing the South's Gunnam Dam.

Residents at 15 locations near the area were told to stay away from the river and villagers and fishermen were notified by text messages, according to the report.

South Korea has been experiencing heavy rains since Monday and were well prepared for contingencies, a water resource agency official said.

Seoul also had to respond to previous North Korea water discharges, which took place twice in May without notice.

Some residents experienced flooding of their homes, and local fishermen had said they had to suspend operations for two days.