N. Korea put on alert against Typhoon Khanun; minor damage reported

This photo, captured from footage of North Korea's Central TV, Aug. 11, shows a special weather forecast on Typhoon Khanun. Yonhap

North Korea appeared to be on alert early Friday, airing rare overnight weather forecasts for Typhoon Khanun as it headed north after arriving on the Korean Peninsula the previous day.

Khanun plowed through South Korea for 16 hours Thursday and dissipated after reaching the vicinity of Pyongyang around 6 a.m. Friday, according to Seoul's weather agency.

The North's official Korean Central TV aired news alerts late into the night in a rare overnight broadcast. It also ran a nighttime weather program when Typhoon Bavi hit the country in 2020.

North Korea has apparently suffered minor damage from Khanun, which only resulted in broken tree branches, according to the state media.

The North had called for all-out efforts to minimize the potential damage from Khanun, saying the country's economy could be dealt a blow should it lack preparation.

North Korea is seen as vulnerable to natural disasters due to its lack of infrastructure. In the past, heavy rains left thousands of people displaced in the impoverished country.

North Korea, meanwhile, has continued to release water from the Hwanggang Dam near the inter-Korean border for over a month without giving prior notice to Seoul, the unification ministry said Friday.

The ministry earlier requested that the North give prior notice if it releases water from the dam on concerns that an unannounced discharge of a large amount of water during the seasonal monsoon season could cause damage to border areas.

"It has been found that North Korea has left some of the floodgates open at the moment," Kim In-ae, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, told a press briefing. "The North is believed to have adjusted the water level by opening the floodgates since June 30, when the monsoon season began."

Kim said that the opening of the floodgates does not indicate that the North is "intentionally" releasing water to incur damage to the South, but it "goes against the spirit of the inter-Korean agreement."

In October 2009, North Korea agreed to notify the South in advance of its water release plans, following an accident that killed six South Koreans after water was discharged from the dam without notice.

But last year, North Korea released water from the dam unannounced, prompting the ministry to express regret over the discharge. (Yonhap)

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