SKorea: NKorea intentionally opened floodgates

By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea suspects North Korea intentionally flooded a river at their shared border last weekend, a top government official said Wednesday, as rescuers recovered the bodies of a boy and two others engulfed by the surge of water.

North Korea unleashed an estimated 40 million tons of water from a new dam without providing prior notice. Six South Koreans camping and fishing at the river were swept to their deaths.

The North said Monday that it "urgently" ordered the discharge because the reservoir's water level was too high. Stopping short of an apology, Pyongyang said it would warn Seoul of similar releases in the future.

South Korea rejected the explanation Tuesday and urged Pyongyang to apologize for the sudden and deadly flooding. Some officials questioned North Korea's reasoning, noting there had been little rain in areas north of Imjin River in the past week.

The Defense Ministry said Monday there were no immediate signs the water release was meant as an attack.

But on Wednesday, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek told lawmakers that Seoul suspects North Korea "intentionally" released the water. Hyun, who is in charge of relations with the communist country, gave no further details.

Such a move could set back inter-Korean relations, which had improved in recent weeks after 18 months of tension. The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war because their three-year conflict in the 1950s ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Meanwhile, rescuers recovered three more bodies Wednesday, Gyeonggi province senior fire official Kang Kun-young said. Three others were found earlier in the week.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said during a regular Cabinet meeting Tuesday that his heart was "aching because six innocent people were lost," his office said. He ordered officials to work out how to prevent a recurrence.

To prevent flooding, South Korea has been building two dams in the area, scheduled to be completed by 2011 and 2012. On Monday, the Land Ministry said in a statement it will speed up construction of the first dam by one year in the wake of the flooding.