North Korea on Wednesday expressed "regret" for the death of six South Koreans in the wake of a sudden discharge of water from a dam into the Imjin River in early September and offered condolences to their families.Seoul said it considers the statement an apology. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyu said in a press briefing said North Korea "expressed the intention to improve relations." That ends one of several simmering disputes 38 days after the flooding occurred on Sept. 6.
A North Korean delegate made the statement at working-level inter-Korean talks about flood prevention in the Imjin River held at the joint Kaesong Industrial Complex on Wednesday morning. "We regret the unexpected death of people in South Korea as a result" of the flooding, the North Korean official said. "We offer deep condolences to their bereaved families."
The ministry quoted the delegate as saying the discharge was "inevitable" to prevent greater damage.
Kim Nam-sik, a South Korean delegate at the meeting and the director-general of the ministry's Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation Bureau, said, "Although it's not a full explanation, we think the North gave us its an account in its own style of what actually happened on their side."
Meanwhile, the two delegations agreed to continue discussions on the prevention of floods and joint use of rivers shared by both sides. They agreed to discuss a schedule for the next meeting in written messages through liaison officers at the truce village of Panmunjom. To prevent similar incidents, the South Korean delegation asked North Korea for advance warning if it is going to discharge water from a dam, of the reason why and the amount of water to be discharged. The North Koreans accepted.