Yoon, Kishida to hold summit in Vilnius on Wednesday

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during a summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21, 2023. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Japan-summit

Yoon, Kishida to hold summit in Vilnius on Wednesday

By Lee Haye-ah

VILNIUS, July 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet Wednesday on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Vilnius, a presidential official said, following controversy over Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea.

The Yoon-Kishida meeting will come days after the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the water discharge from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, triggering angry protests from many in South Korea and other neighboring countries fearful of the water's potential harmful effect on people and the environment.

"The issue of the Fukushima contaminated water could come up," the presidential official told reporters here Tuesday, noting the summit agenda has not been coordinated in advance.

Earlier, a presidential official told reporters that if the issue is raised, Yoon will deliver the government's position that it will place top priority on the health and well-being of South Korean people.

Meanwhile, South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party has urged Yoon to use the planned summit to demand Tokyo withhold the water discharge plan.

The presidential official who spoke to reporters in Vilnius said the two leaders are also likely to discuss joint safety measures against the foreign exchange crisis, cutting-edge technology research, measures to contribute and cooperate for the stabilization of supply chains, and security cooperation involving the United States.

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