▲ This photo taken July 8, 2023, and provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shows Foreign Minister Park Jin (R) shaking hands with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi ahead of their meeting at the ministry building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
▲ Rafael Mariano Grossi (1st in the back row), director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, moves to another location to avoid protesters after arriving at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on July 7, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ A group of protesters stage a protest rally at Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul on July 7, 2023 ahead of the arrival of International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to discuss the recently released IAEA report on Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from a damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima. (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) S Korea-IAEA chief

(3rd LD) IAEA chief, S. Korean foreign minister discuss agency report on Fukushima water discharge

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SEOUL, July 8 (Yonhap) -- The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met with the South Korean foreign minister in Seoul on Saturday to explain the analysis of the U.N. watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima plant.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi arrived in Seoul on Friday and held meetings with Foreign Minister Park Jin and Yoo Guk-hee, head of South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, on Saturday.

On Sunday, he is set to meet with officials from the main opposition Democratic Party, which has been critical of the Japanese plan.

Minister Park said he and Grossi had an "in-depth discussion" for cooperation between Seoul and the IAEA over the verification of the safety of Japan's treated radioactive water.

"What starts now is even more important than the work done so far -- the continuous monitoring of the (Fukushima) plan's implementation." Grossi tweeted, adding the IAEA will remain at the Fukushima plant ensuring safety every step of the way.

In Seoul, Grossi said there was no internal disagreement behind the IAEA's published comprehensive report on Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima plant.

"There is no disagreement. This is the final comprehensive report by the IAEA and no expert has come to me saying that he or she disagrees on the contents," the director general said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Ahead of his visit here, the Seoul government said Japan's plan to release contaminated water from the Fukushima plant would meet international standards, including those set by the IAEA, if carried out as planned.

Grossi was met by a group of angry protesters at Seoul's Gimpo airport.

Dozens of protesters gathered in front of the airport's VIP exit, with some of them loudly chanting slogans like "Grossi, go home," "Oppose marine dumping" and "Leave Korea, Grossi."

They occasionally clashed physically with the policemen who were positioned in front of the cordoned-off area.

After about two hours since his arrival, he successfully left the airport, using another passage that went unnoticed by both the protesters and reporters.

Grossi flew in from Japan following the agency's conclusion that Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the plant into the sea is consistent with international safety standards.

While in Japan, Grossi delivered the IAEA's report on Tokyo's water release plan to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The report was seen as a blessing for Japan's planned water discharge, expected to begin in August.

It, however, prompted serious concerns in other countries, especially South Korea, where many believe the IAEA may have neglected or failed to verify the potential long-term impact of treated wastewater on people and the environment.

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