S Korea to lodge protest against DPRK's unannounced dam discharge

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will send a message to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday to express its dissatisfaction over an unannounced discharge of water from a dam, which may be the cause of the disappearance of six people, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

The government is also to request an thorough explanation of the accident and a promise from DPRK that such an accident will not take place again, the ministry was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying.

Six South Korean campers, including one child, went missing Sunday morning while camping at a riverside sites in Yeoncheon, downstream of the Imjin River, which originates in the DPRK, local police and rescue said.

The missing were apparently swept away by a huge wave released by a dam in the DPRK, police said, adding that the discharge of water caused the river's water levels to surge from 2.3 meters to 4.96 meters suddenly.

Almost no rain has fallen in the area in recent days, police said, adding that they were investigating the cause of the accident.