Will North Korea Suddenly Release Water from Hwanggang Dam?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As heavy rain is expected in North Korea, the front-line area has also been put on alert. This is because there is a high possibility that North Korea will conduct a sudden discharge from the Hwanggang Dam on the upper Imjin River or that North Korea's wooden box landmines installed in the front-line area may be washed away.

On the 3rd, North Korea's Korean Central Broadcasting reported that from tonight until the 5th, a 'medium-level warning' will be issued for the central and southern regions, and a 'caution warning' will be issued for parts of North Pyongan Province and Jagang Province. In particular, heavy rain of over 250mm is expected in South and North Hwanghae Provinces, Kaesong City, and inland Gangwon Province, with some areas forecasted to receive between 300 to 500mm of rain.

In 2016, North Korea also conducted an unauthorized discharge from the Hwanggang Dam, causing damage worth hundreds of millions of won to fishing gear installed by fishermen in the lower Imjin River area. Additionally, in October 2015, three days before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party, North Korea released water from the Hwanggang Dam, forcing anglers around the Imjin River to evacuate urgently. In 2009, six people died around the Imjin River due to unauthorized discharge from the Hwanggang Dam. If North Korea suddenly releases water at a rate of 500 cubic meters per second from the Hwanggang Dam, the discharged water will reach our side's Gunam Dam, located 50km downstream, within 30 minutes.

With heavy rain falling in North Korea, there is also a high possibility that wooden box landmines will be washed away. In the front-line area, wooden box landmines that had been washed away have been found during the monsoon season. North Korea's wooden box landmines are wooden boxes measuring 20cm in width, 9cm in length, and 4.5cm in height, containing 200g of explosives and a detonator. They are designed to explode if the box is opened or subjected to a certain amount of pressure, with a known lethal radius of within 2 meters. Recently, some have been identified as made of plastic instead of wood.

Civilians have occasionally been injured by North Korean landmines washed away by floods. In 2017, a wooden box landmine was found on Achado Island in Ganghwa County, Incheon. In July 2010, a resident named Han (50), who was illegally fishing inside the civilian access control line in Jangnam-myeon, Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, near the Imjin River tributary Sami Stream, picked up two wooden box landmines and was carrying them out when one exploded, resulting in his death at the scene.