MOSCOW, September 7 (RIA Novosti) - The South Korean government sent a letter of protest to North Korea on Monday over the surprise discharge of water from a dam that killed at least three people, Yonhap news agency reported.
A group of South Koreans who were camping and fishing on a river near the border were swept away by a large release of dam water upriver on Sunday morning. Three of the group members are missing, and three bodies have been found, one of which is that of a young boy believed to be North Korean.
The agency quoted Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung as saying: "Our government expressed regrets" over the incident and asked Pyongyang to provide an explanation. He said the government has "strongly pressed" Pyongyang to give warnings in the future to prevent such incidents.
North Korea has not yet responded to the protest letter, Yonhap cited officials as saying.
The incident is likely to present a new obstacle in inter-Korean dialogue, which appeared to be making progress in recent weeks.
Pyongyang has allowed cross-border cargo traffic with South Korea to resume, and agreed to host reunions of families divided by the Korean War. North Korea also recently released a South Korean worker at the Kaesong industrial complex, and fishermen convicted of illegally crossing the sea border.
