Pyongyang expresses “regret” for dam incident that killed six in the South

Pyongyang’s “regrets” came during inter-Korean talks now taking place in Kaesong, a town that is also home to an inter-Korean industrial complex just north of the border.

Seoul appears to have taken North Korea’s statement as a de facto “apology”.

“Literally speaking, the North expressed regrets and condolences,” Yonhap News quoted a South Korean official as saying. "But in the general context, we think it's an apology by North Korea with regard to this incident."

South Korea’s Presidential Office welcomed the North's remarks as a "considerably positive signal,” even if it came more than a month after the incident.

The Kaesong meeting was called by South Korea to discuss flood measures to avoid a repeat of the 6 September incident.

Whilst there have been unannounced dam discharges almost every year, this year's was the first to claim the lives of South Korean nationals.

One of the measures under discussion is a warning call system that would sound an alarm whenever there is an impending water discharge.

Family reunification is also being discussed. Many Korean families found themselves by the 1950-53 war. A new series of meetings should follow those held on 26 September.

In the meantime, recent North Korea’s missile tests, whilst cause for concern for the international community, are not raising undue alarm.

Pyongyang recently announced it was going to test-fire missiles in the next few days. For Seoul, they are a breach of UN Security Council resolutions banning ballistic missile tests.

However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that they “won't affect the trend towards easing on the Korean peninsula.”

In recent weeks, Beijing, after a period of chill, has consolidated its diplomatic and economic ties with North Korea.