South wants North apology

       South Korea yesterday demanded an apology and further explanation from North Korea after a dam discharged a wall of water into a cross-border river, sweeping away six people in the South.
       Sunday's tragedy threatened to damage improving cross-border relations, with some newspapers voicing suspicions the deadly water surge was intentional.
       A top security official said Seoul was looking at "all possibilities" in its investigation of the case.
       Millions of cubic metres of water were released from the North's Hwanggang dam into the Imjin River, briefly swelling it to twice its normal depth and carrying away five campers and a fisherman.
       Three of the bodies have been found so far.
       Police also found the body of a North Korean boy aged four or five which apparently drifted down river following the same incident. It was returned to the North yesterday.
       The North late on Monday blamed a sudden surge in the dam's water level for the "emergency" release and promised to give prior warning of future discharges.
       Seoul officials said there had been no heavy rain in the North in recent days to explain such a surge, and noted its communist neighbour failed to express regret for the victims.
       "The government demands that North Korean authorities give a full account and an apology for having caused casualties to our citizens in the sudden discharge," said Chun Hae-sung, spokesman for the Unification Ministry which handles cross-border ties.
       "The government feels it very regrettable that it did not comment at all on the serious casualties we've had," he said, adding Seoul also "can hardly understand" Pyongyang's explanation.
       Kim Sung-hwan, top presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security,said Seoul was working with its allies to secure satellite images of the scene at the time.
       Mr Kim, quoted by Yonhap news agency, said initial reports suggested there had been no torrential rain in the North in recent days."You can understand that we are looking at the case with all possibilities open," he said when asked if Seoul believed the discharge could have been intentional.
       Seoul's Land Ministry said 40 million cubic metres of water was released. The dam incident stirred anger and sorrow.
       President Lee Myung-bak told a cabinet meeting:"My heart is bleeding because six innocent lives were lost. We must carry out a thorough probe into this tragedy and take countermeasures to prevent any recurrence."
       The power-starved North started building dams on the Imjin River in 2000 to generate electricity.