By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol asked to send South Korean experts to monitor the planned release of water from Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant during a meeting on Wednesday with the Japanese prime minister, Yoon’s office said.
The two leaders held a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania, during which they also condemned North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile as a serious provocation that escalates tension.
Yoon has been pushing to mend strained ties with Tokyo following years of feuds over historical issues which undercut cooperation between the key U.S. Asian allies despite increasing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
The talks came as Japan plans to soon start releasing more than a million tons of treated radioactive water, which sparked health concerns among some South Koreans that the water could make its way to their country, potentially contaminating seafood.
While expressing respect for the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s recent approval of the planned water release, Yoon requested the dispatch of South Korean experts and real-time sharing of monitoring data to verify if the process was carried out as planned.
“He emphasised that public health and safety should be considered as a top priority,” Yoon’s office said in a statement.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to share monitoring information “in a prompt, highly transparent manner,” and halt the discharge of water immediately if its radioactive levels exceeded safety standards, Yoon’s office said.
Japan’s foreign ministry also said Kishida promised Yoon to ensure swift, transparent sharing of monitoring data, adding that the release would be constantly reviewed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“He said there will be no release that will have a negative impact on the environment, the Japanese or South Korean people,” the ministry said in a statement.
Yoon and Kishida also agreed to resume high-level economic dialogue this year, both sides said.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Sakura Murakami in Tokyo Editing by Mark Heinrich and Mark Potter)
