Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting Held in Indonesia... President Yoon's Requests Emphasized Again

Foreign Minister Park Jin of South Korea and Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa of Japan held a foreign ministers' meeting on the morning of the 13th in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the occasion of attending the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) related foreign ministers' meeting.

Minister Park reiterated to Foreign Minister Hayashi the requests conveyed by President Yoon Suk-yeol to Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio during the Korea-Japan summit in Lithuania the previous day.

The day before, President Yoon requested three things: ▲ real-time sharing of monitoring information throughout the entire discharge process ▲ participation of Korean experts in the discharge inspection process ▲ immediate suspension of discharge if the concentration of radioactive materials exceeds the standard.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A Foreign Ministry official told reporters after the meeting, “Minister Park also repeatedly requested necessary measures such as real-time monitoring sharing, immediate suspension of discharge and prompt notification to Korea if the concentration exceeds the standard.”

Minister Park also emphasized that the Japanese government must maintain high transparency and reliability, and take measures to ensure not only scientific safety but also public reassurance.

Foreign Minister Hayashi referred to the comprehensive report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which verified the Japanese government's contaminated water discharge plan, and stated that Japan would share information with high transparency and promptly with Korea.

He added that if problems such as radioactive material concentrations exceeding the standard occur during this monitoring, Japan would respond appropriately, including immediately suspending the discharge as planned.

However, it is known that there was no specific discussion regarding the participation of Korean experts in the discharge inspection process. The meeting did not include any specific mention from the Japanese side about the timing of the contaminated water ocean discharge, nor was there any request to resume imports of seafood from Fukushima.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, the two sides strongly condemned North Korea's long-range ballistic missile launch the previous day and declared their intention to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

They also shared evaluations on the normalization of Korea-Japan relations and the restoration of shuttle diplomacy, and agreed to hold a high-level Korea-Japan economic consultation within the year to maintain momentum for improving bilateral relations.

The foreign ministers' meeting between the two countries was held about two months after the last meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, during the G7 summit in May.

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