Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young visited flood prevention facilities along the Imjin River, a waterway shared by the two Koreas, today (June 29).

Minister Jeong visited the Gunnam Flood Control Reservoir and Pilseung Bridge in Yeoncheon-gun, Gyeonggi Province, accompanied by officials from relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, K-water, and the 25th Infantry Division.

The visit was intended to inspect disaster prevention readiness in the border region's shared river ahead of the heavy rainfall season and to strengthen cooperation among relevant agencies.

"Cooperation on shared rivers between nations is one of the most common areas of international collaboration, and it is a field in which North Korea is already cooperating with neighboring countries such as China and Russia," Minister Jeong emphasized.

He added, "We will pursue the establishment of a disaster and crisis response system for the climate crisis through bilateral cooperation between the two Koreas and multilateral cooperation involving international organizations."

This statement is interpreted as an emphasis on the necessity of cooperation on shared rivers, even as North Korea defines inter-Korean relations as those between two hostile states and continues to ignore the South.

Minister Jeong also stated, "The two Koreas must transform the shared river from a space of hostility and confrontation into a space of peace and coexistence where we can communicate and build trust."

However, he did not directly call on North Korea to provide advance notice of dam discharges.

Previously, the government has urged North Korea to provide advance notice of dam discharges from the upper reaches of shared rivers almost every year ahead of the monsoon season.

Last year, Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung also visited Pilseung Bridge and emphasized that notification must be provided before any discharge.

North Korea's discharge of water from dams on shared rivers affects disaster prevention measures in border areas such as Yeoncheon.

In September 2009, North Korea released water from the Hwanggang Dam without prior notice, resulting in casualties downstream on the Imjin River. Following this, the two Koreas reached an agreement in October of the same year to provide advance notice when discharging water from the Hwanggang Dam.

North Korea provided notice twice in 2010 and once in 2013, but has not done so since, despite repeated requests from the South Korean government.

(Photo: Provided by the Ministry of Unification, Yonhap News)