S. Korea, Japan likely to set up consultative body on Fukushima water release

South Korea reportedly has put out feelers about the possibility of establishing a consultative body with Tokyo

An aerial view of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant undergoing decommissioning work shows tanks for storing contaminated water. (AFP/Yonhap News)

South Korea and Japan are likely to set up a group to discuss a Japanese plan to release radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

“The Japanese are looking into accepting the South Korean government’s idea of holding new deliberations [about the contaminated water at Fukushima],” the Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported Sunday, quoting a diplomatic source.

The newspaper said that the South Korean government has put out feelers about setting up such a deliberative body given the need for not only diplomats but also experts to trade viewpoints about safety issues. Japan has reportedly indicated to South Korea that it would accept an official request for such deliberations.

The Japanese government is reportedly looking into allowing several agencies to take part in this deliberative body. Those would include the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, the body under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry that is overseeing the decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear plant; the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the agency responsible for regulating the nuclear power industry; and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company that operates the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Previously, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke of the need for bilateral deliberations to communicate South Korea’s position and provide additional information separately from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s verification of the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. The Ministry also said it was looking into the option of holding bilateral deliberations toward that end.

The Japanese government announced on April 13 that cabinet members had decided to release around 1.25 million tons of contaminated water currently stored at the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean over 30 years. It said it would begin releasing the water in two years after purifying it with the Advanced Liquid Processing System to lower radioactivity below the legal limit.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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