Government: "Korea-Japan Working-Level Talks on Japan's Contaminated Water Discharge Completed... Announcement Soon"

Response to 'Positive Conclusion of Consultation' Question: "That Seems Like a Good Perspective"

The working-level technical consultations between South Korea and Japan regarding follow-up measures on the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have concluded. Both sides plan to publicly disclose the results of the consultations soon.

At the Korea-Japan summit held in Lithuania on the 12th of last month, President Yoon Suk-yeol discussed with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida the feasibility and implementation plans for the demands related to the contaminated water discharge. During the summit, President Yoon requested ▲ participation of Korean experts in the discharge inspection process ▲ real-time sharing of monitoring information on the discharge ▲ immediate suspension of discharge and sharing of the fact if radioactive material concentration exceeds the standard limit.

On the 17th, Park Gu-yeon, First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, stated at a daily briefing on Japan’s contaminated water at the Seoul Government Complex, "The working-level consultations were all concluded yesterday (16th) via a video conference," adding, "The results will be comprehensively explained after further review and organization by both sides."

Park Gu-yeon, First Deputy Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination (left), and Yoo Guk-hee, Head of the Expert On-site Inspection Team, are announcing the activity plan for the team's visit to Japan to inspect the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on the 19th at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Deputy Minister Park explained, "During this meeting, both countries additionally exchanged positions on technical matters related to the contaminated water discharge and engaged in serious discussions." He continued, "Our side reiterated that the disposal of contaminated water must proceed under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring system with high transparency and reliability," and said, "Both sides agreed on the importance of continuous communication and consultation to achieve this."

The Korea-Japan delegations met in Japan on the 25th of last month for working-level consultations, and since the beginning of this month, two video conferences were held on the 7th and the day before yesterday. When asked by reporters whether the consultations could be considered positively concluded, Deputy Minister Park replied, "You may view it that way."

Regarding the participation of Korean experts in the discharge inspection process, he explained, "It is not a situation that can be finalized at the bilateral consultation stage with Japan," but added, "I understand that once consultations with the IAEA are completed, that issue will also be cleared."

When asked whether there is a possibility that the Korea-Japan leaders will disclose the final consultation details during the Korea-US-Japan summit to be held on the 18th (local time) at Camp David in the United States, Deputy Minister Park drew a clear line, saying, "It is not an agenda of the Korea-US-Japan summit. The technical consultations are proceeding through a completely separate channel from the summit." However, he added, "I cannot guarantee whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will mention the related matters or not."

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