▲ Park Ku-yeon (2nd from R), the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue in Seoul on Aug. 29, 2023. (Yonhap)

Fukushima-experts

Fisheries, marine experts could be sent to monitor Fukushima release: official

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- Fisheries and marine specialists could be included in a team of experts that South Korea sends to Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant to monitor the ongoing release of contaminated water, an official said Tuesday.

The two countries have earlier agreed on regular visits by South Korean experts to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) field office located in Fukushima after President Yoon Suk Yeol asked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to include South Korean experts in monitoring the Fukushima water release.

Three experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) have been on a visit to Fukushima after the release began Thursday, according to Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, during a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue.

"The experts are holding meetings with IAEA officials regularly," Park said, adding that it is the government's goal to send experts once every two weeks during the early stage of the release.

Park also said the experts to be sent to the IAEA office in the future will mostly be KINS officials but could include experts in fisheries products or the ocean sector.

The two sides have also agreed that the IAEA will share the latest information regarding the release plan with the Seoul government and will hold video conferences regularly.

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