The government has called on North Korea to provide prior notice before releasing water from a dam near the inter-Korean border, to prevent flooding on the South Korean side during the monsoon season. 

Chang Yoon-jeong, a deputy spokesperson for the unification ministry, issued the appeal Friday during a regular press briefing at the government complex in Seoul. 

The spokesperson said the ministry is asking the North to provide prior notice on humanitarian grounds before any release of Hwanggang Dam on the Imjin River. 

The ministry stressed that a joint response to natural disasters is a humanitarian matter and that the two Koreas have reached multiple agreements in the past to cooperate to prevent flood damage along the Imjin River. 
 
The spokesperson said the Lee Jae Myung government views protecting lives and ensuring safety as the state’s most fundamental duty, adding that giving prior notice of dam releases directly affects the safety of South Korean citizens living near the border.