The Defense Ministry says that North Korea’s Hwanggang Dam bordering South Korea is reaching full capacity amid heavy torrential downpours and the North may release water from the dam without prior warning.

Ministry Spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said on Tuesday during a regular news briefing that the ministry is maintaining close cooperation with related agencies to prepare for a possible abrupt discharge by the North.

A Unification Ministry official said earlier in the day that if Pyongyang is interested in peace and dialogue with Seoul, it would notify the South in advance before it opens the floodgates.

The dam on the Imjin River, which flows south across the inter-Korean border, is located about 42 kilometers north of the military demarcation line.

In September 2009, six South Korean campers were killed when North Korea without prior notice released large amounts of water from the Hwanggang Dam onto the river.