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| ▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands as they hold a joint press conference following their talks at the presidential office in Seoul on May 7, 2023. (Yonhap) |
presidential office-Fukushima
S. Korea to inspect operation of treatment plants ahead of Fukushima water release: presidential office
SEOUL, May 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea needs to inspect whether Japan's treatment plants are working properly ahead of the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, a presidential official said Wednesday.
The official was speaking about a perceived gap between Seoul and Tokyo on the scope of the inspection that South Korean experts plan to carry out when they visit Fukushima later this month.
The team's visit received approval during a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul on Sunday, in what was seen as a goodwill gesture from Kishida amid warming ties between the two nations.
"An inspection of the contaminated water itself is being carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but we need to check and inspect whether Japan's treatment plants for contaminated water are working properly, and whether it has the ability to operate them," a key presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.
The foreign ministry expressed a similar stance in a report to the National Assembly on Tuesday, saying the visit will provide an "opportunity to conduct a multilayered review and evaluation" of the water's safety independently of the IAEA's monitoring team.
Japanese Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura struck a different tone, however, telling reporters Tuesday that the inspection is meant to "help deepen understanding" about the safety of the release, not to evaluate or certify its safety.
The presidential office maintained there is no gap in the two countries' understanding of the inspection team's purpose.
"We understand that the safety inspection Japan talked about is the same kind of inspection being carried out by the IAEA," a different presidential official said.
"Our experts are already included in that inspection, so there's no need to do the same thing through the upcoming inspection."
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