Yoon Respects IAEA Announcement but Insists on 'Participation of Korean Experts and Suspension of Discharge if Standards Are Exceeded' (Comprehensive)

Japan-Korea Summit on Contaminated Water Discharge... Yoon "Respect IAEA Announcement"
Request to 'Stop Discharge if Exceeding Standards' to Minimize Public Anxiety
Kishida "Will Not Release Water Harmful to Korean People"

On the 12th (local time), President Yoon Suk-yeol requested Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to guarantee the participation of Korean experts in the inspection process of the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, Japan. While expressing respect for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s recent announcement that Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water into the ocean meets international safety standards, he set separate conditions to prioritize the health and safety of the Korean people.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, visiting Lithuania to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a Korea-Japan summit held at a hotel in Vilnius on the 12th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the same day, President Yoon held a summit meeting with Prime Minister Kishida on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit to discuss this agenda. The two leaders confirmed their positions on the sensitive issue of 'nuclear power plant contaminated water discharge' just over two months after the restoration of 'shuttle diplomacy' through reciprocal visits in March and May.

President Yoon stated, "We respect the announcement by the IAEA, a representative UN-affiliated international organization in the field of nuclear safety," but requested that monitoring information on whether the entire discharge process is carried out as planned be shared with Korea in real time and that Korean experts be allowed to participate in the inspection process. This is interpreted as maintaining the government's existing stance of respecting the IAEA's announcement while minimizing public anxiety by setting the condition of 'participation of our experts.'

Previously, the government had hoped for the participation of Korean experts in the local office established by the IAEA at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Although specific consultations have not yet been made, the government stated that it plans to negotiate with the IAEA to guarantee Korean participation in the IAEA's future activities to reassure the public. The government has also participated in the Fukushima contaminated water monitoring task force (TF), composed of experts from 11 countries, and in the IAEA's cross-verification of Fukushima contaminated water samples.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is visiting Lithuania to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, is being guided to his seat after shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a Korea-Japan summit held at a hotel in Vilnius on the 12th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the same day, President Yoon emphasized, "The health and safety of the people must be considered as the top priority," and demanded that if situations such as the concentration of radioactive materials exceeding the standard occur, the discharge should be immediately stopped and Korea should be promptly informed. Prime Minister Kishida agreed with this point, promising, "As the Prime Minister of Japan, I will ensure the utmost safety of the marine discharge and will not allow discharges that adversely affect the health of our citizens and the Korean people or the environment." He also explained, "After the start of marine discharge, Japan will undergo IAEA reviews and promptly disclose monitoring information with high transparency. If problems such as radioactive material concentrations exceeding standards occur through this monitoring, appropriate measures, including immediate suspension of discharge as planned, will be taken."

However, there are expectations that political disputes within Korea will intensify regarding President Yoon's message of trust in the IAEA's announcement. The Democratic Party of Korea strongly criticized the IAEA's comprehensive report on the 'Safety Assessment of the Discharge of Contaminated Water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant' during a meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on the 9th, accusing it of being biased toward Japan.

Additionally, the two leaders agreed to resume the Korea-Japan High-Level Economic Consultations (a comprehensive economic dialogue led by Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Economic Diplomacy Coordinator and Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Economic Affairs Counselor) within the year, seeking cooperation in various fields including diplomacy, security, economy, culture, and human exchanges.

They also condemned North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The two leaders emphasized that it is a serious provocation that constitutes a grave violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions and escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, strongly condemning it. They shared the recognition that North Korea's nuclear missile provocations seriously undermine regional and global peace and agreed to maintain close communication and cooperation among the leaders of Korea, Japan, and the United States.

They also welcomed the United States' proposal regarding the trilateral summit among Korea, the United States, and Japan, which is expected to be a groundbreaking milestone for future trilateral security cooperation. The two leaders agreed on the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region and to continue solidarity in promoting Korea's 'Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific Strategy' and Japan's 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' vision.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.