The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog will meet South Korea’s foreign minister and top nuclear safety official on Saturday in an effort to calm concerns over Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima plant. Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived in South Korea on Friday after completing a trip to Japan during which the watchdog approved a plan to dump wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
His arrival was met with protesters at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, local media reported. Earlier, Grossi said at a news conference in Japan on Friday that he also wanted to meet with the opposition party in South Korea, which has criticized the discharge plan.
The South Korean government said on Friday it respected the IAEA report and that its own analysis found the release would have “no significant impact” on its waters. President Yoo Suk Yeol’s administration has crossed a fine line in its stance on Japan’s discharge proposal as it seeks to improve relations with Tokyo. However, the plan has sparked anger and concern among South Koreans, prompting some shoppers to stock up on sea salt.
Despite South Korea’s approval of the plan, the ban on food and seafood from the Fukushima region would remain in place. Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung also said the government should try to stop the plan and take the case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
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