The Ministry of Construction and Transportation announced Tuesday that North Korea was building the "Hwanggang Dam" on the upper reaches of the Imjin River, some 42.3km north of the demarcation line in the demilitarized zone. The ministry noted topological analysis confirmed that the capacity of the dam would be between 300 and 400 million tons. The MOCT said the North has started foundation work and tunnel construction for the dam, which will generate power by diverting the flow of the Imjin to the Yeseong River.

Blocking the upper stream of the Imjin would cause water shortages of 293 million tons annually in its lower areas such as Paju and Yeoncheon in South Korea, while release of water from the Hwanggang Dam in the monsoon season would cause devastating floods, according to the ministry.

Pyongyang announced the construction of the 100,000 kilowatt capacity hydroelectric plant on the Imjin in November 1999, but the government has never brought up the issue in numerous inter-Korean meetings since then.

Aside from Hwanggang Dam, North Korea is currently constructing four more dams of similar capacity. The MOCT plans to discuss the sharing of water resources in the coming "water damage prevention talks" in January. The ministry is considering expanding the 70 million ton flood control reservoir in the lower Imjin to some 200 million tons in case the two Koreas fail to reach an agreement.

(Cha Hak-bong, hbcha@chosun.com )