S. Korea, Japan to hold working-level talks on Fukushima discharge following Yoon-Kishida summit

김한주 / 2023-07-13 14:34:55

S Korea-Japan-Fukushima

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12, 2023. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-Fukushima

S. Korea, Japan to hold working-level talks on Fukushima discharge following Yoon-Kishida summit

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- The government will start follow-up discussions with Japan after President Yoon Suk Yeol asked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to include South Korean experts in monitoring the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, an official said Thursday.

Yoon made the request during a bilateral summit with Kishida in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit Wednesday, saying the health and safety of the people should be the top considerations in releasing the water into the sea.

Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said during a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue that the working-level talks would be carried out as soon as possible.

"President Yoon Suk Yeol has repeatedly stressed the basic position regarding the contaminated water issue, which is that the health and safety of the people are the top priority," Park said.

Park further mentioned that discussions would be conducted through various methods, including additional contact between high-level officials who participated in the summit.

The two leaders held a 30-minute discussion, the sixth of its kind. During the meeting, Yoon asked that the discharge be immediately stopped if the concentration of radioactive material in the water exceeds standard level, and that Japan promptly inform South Korea.

Kishida replied that he will do everything possible to ensure the safety of the water release and not discharge any water that could harm the health of the Japanese and South Korean people or the environment, according to a press release.

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