Heavy Rain This Week... Frontline Anti-Personnel Mine Warning Light [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

North Korea May Open Hwanggang Dam Gates Without Warning
Series of Box Mine Accidents in Frontline Area During Monsoon Season

Military authorities are on high alert over North Korea's unauthorized discharge into the Imjin River. Heavy rains typical of the monsoon season are forecast starting this weekend, increasing the likelihood that North Korea will open the sluice gates of the Hwanggang Dam without prior notice.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Gunnam Dam is located downstream of Pilsunggyo Bridge, the northernmost point of the Imjin River, and is only 56 km away from North Korea's Hwanggang Dam. Approximately 63% of the Imjin River basin area where Gunnam Dam is situated lies within North Korean territory. Since the Hwanggang Dam's reservoir capacity is five times larger than that of Gunnam Dam, an unannounced opening of the sluice gates by North Korea could cause water levels to rise sharply, posing significant danger.

Heavy rainfall in North Korean territory also raises the possibility of floating wooden box mines drifting downstream. The "mokhamjire" is an anti-personnel landmine made of pine wood. In the frontline areas, wooden box mines lost during the monsoon season have been discovered in the past. North Korean mokhamjire are wooden boxes measuring 20 cm in width, 9 cm in length, and 4.5 cm in height, containing 200 grams 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 lethal radius reported to be within 2 meters.

In September 2009, North Korea's sudden discharge from the Hwanggang Dam caused the deaths of six residents in Yeoncheon County. In July 2010, a civilian fishing illegally near the civilian access control line in Jangnam-myeon, Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, died due to a wooden box mine. In October 2009, North and South Korea agreed during the "Inter-Korean Working-Level Talks on Flood Prevention of the Imjin River" to provide prior notification before dam discharge. However, North Korea has only complied with this agreement twice in July 2010 and once in July 2013. On the 3rd, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho visited Gunnam Dam and Pilsunggyo Bridge in Yeoncheon County and urged, "North Korea must provide prior notification according to inter-Korean agreements when discharging from the Hwanggang Dam."

A military official stated, "Currently, the water level at Gunnam Dam is less than 0.5 meters. However, if it rises above 1 meter, an interest-level alert is issued," adding, "If heavy rains pour down this week, the water level at Gunnam Dam could rise rapidly."