North Korea likely released water from a dam near the inter-Korean border on Tuesday morning without notifying South Korea, according to Seoul’s environment ministry, despite long-standing concerns that this can cause flooding in the South.

“On the morning of July 9, we detected signs of partial discharge from North Korea’s Hwanggang Dam upstream in the Imjin River basin,” the environment ministry announced in a statement Tuesday evening. “The information was immediately shared with related organizations such as military units and local governments through a direct hotline, and we have conducted patrols downstream.”

The apparent release of water into the Imjin