- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

South Korea Reduces Water Supply to the North

© AP Photo / Lee Jin-manNorth Korea and South Korea Flag
North Korea and South Korea Flag - Sputnik International
Subscribe
With North Korea slowly coming out of a long drought, the South Korean government has decided to reduce the supply of free water it was giving to the North.

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification says the water it sends to North Korea will be cut from 7,000 tons to 5,000 tons a day.

© AP Photo / Lee Jin-man)The industrial complex in Kaesong is seen from the Dora Observation Post in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea
The industrial complex in Kaesong is seen from the Dora Observation Post in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea - Sputnik International
The industrial complex in Kaesong is seen from the Dora Observation Post in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea
The ministry added that Seoul has reduced another supply of free water to Kaesong by 5,000 tons a day to 10,000 tons a day since December.

This supply of water comes through a facility near a reservoir at the Kaesong Industrial Complex (GIC in Korean), where thousands of North Koreans live and work.

This picture taken on February 2, 2015 shows US submarine USS Olympia (SSN-717) mooring at a South Korean naval base in Changwon - Sputnik International
World
South Korea, US Conduct Naval Drills Near North Korea

“North Korea suffered a severe drought in 2014 and the amount of water stored in the reservoir at the GIC has been drying up,” unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol told Korea Times. “The reservoir is the only source of water at the GIC and nearby region.”

“It was inevitable to cut back the water supply and Pyongyang fully understands what led us to make such a decision.”

Balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets - Sputnik International
Asia
South Korea to Develop New Arms in Response to North Korean Nuclear Program

“In the case of Kaseong, we’ve been providing water for its 300,000 citizens since 2007 because North Korea lacks civic infrastructure and asked us for support.”

In addition to the residents, there are close to 53,000 North Korean working for 124 South Korean companies in the border cities, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises at the GIC that began operations in 2004 as part of inter-Korean reconciliatory efforts.

While South Korea insists the water reduction is due to an improvement in drought conditions, both countries have had tense relations and it is not known if the water cut off was done in anger or out of spite. 

 


Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала