By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s government said on Friday it abided by the United Nations nuclear energy watchdog’s review of Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant destroyed by the tsunami and declared that it met international standards.
Seoul announced its own assessment after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave Japan’s plan the go-ahead this week, despite security concerns in some neighboring countries and signs of a backlash from consumers.
“Based on a review of the contaminated water treatment plan submitted by Japan, we have confirmed that the concentration of radioactive materials meets the standards for discharge into the ocean,” said Bang Moon-kyu, Minister of the Office. coordination of government policies, during a press briefing.
“Therefore, the plan meets international standards, including those of the IAEA,” he said.
Bang said South Korea respected the IAEA’s findings since the report was based on a task force of global experts set up by an established international agency.
The plan to release treated water from the Fukushima plant is also “not expected to have a significant impact on our ocean areas,” Bang said.
South Korea has conducted its own review of Japan’s plan to release more than a million tons of treated radioactive water, most of which was used to cool reactors destroyed by the March 2011 tsunami.
Bang said South Korea’s assessment hinged on executing the plan as laid out by Japan and would conduct further review if there were any changes.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration has toed a fine line in its stance on Japan’s discharge proposal as it tries to improve relations with Tokyo, even though the plan has been a contentious issue with local consumers concerned about safety.
The announcement comes as IAEA director general Rafael Grossi is due to arrive in South Korea on Friday for a three-day visit to explain the agency’s findings after approving Japan’s plan this week.
On Thursday, a group of South Korean lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party held a press conference calling on Japan to consider other ways to deal with sewage, including burying it underground or through evaporation. .
Grossi is also due to meet South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin during his visit.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Soo-hyang ChoiEditing by Ed Davies and Shri Navaratnam)