During the Korea-Japan summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President Yoon Seok-yeol held a meeting on the 21st, in relation to the marine discharge plan for radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Japan, “transparency and objective It is desirable to deal with it accordingly,” said Foreign Minister Park Jin on the 22nd.
Minister Park appeared on Yonhap News TV that day and said, “The government’s unchanging position is that the treatment of contaminated water in Fukushima should be scientific, objective, and transparent in accordance with international organizations (standards).”
According to Minister Park, President Yoon also mentioned in a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida that “Japan’s interest and support are needed” to secure transparency in the treatment of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
In the midst of this, the Korean government sent an expert inspection team to Japan for six days from the previous day to look at local facilities in relation to the ocean discharge plan of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to the agreement reached at the Korea-Japan summit held on the 7th of this month.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., Ltd. was shut down in March 2011 due to an explosion during the Great East Japan Earthquake.
However, even after the accident, around 140 tons of highly-contaminated radioactive water is being produced inside the nuclear power plant building due to the injection of cooling water to cool the melted nuclear fuel and the inflow of outside groundwater and rainwater.
Japan currently purifies this contaminated water with a multi-nuclide removal facility (ALPS) and stores it in a water tank at the site of the nuclear power plant.
Minister Park said, “I think that our inspection team will be of great help in confirming transparency and safety throughout the entire process and obtaining cooperation with necessary data to make a final judgment (whether or not it is safe).”
In addition, Minister Park gave meaning to President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida’s visit to the ‘Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Cenotaph’ in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Japan the morning before, saying, “It was a historic scene.”
The monument was erected to honor the 20,000 to 30,000 Koreans who were sacrificed together when the US Army dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 to hasten the end of World War II. This is the first time the heads of state of Korea and Japan have visited the monument together.
Regarding the meeting between President Yun and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held the previous day, Minister Park also said, “The list of items (requested for assistance) delivered by President Zelensky (to our side) includes non-lethal items such as landmine removal equipment, emergency evacuation vehicles, and medical equipment. “Items that can be supported immediately will be judged and provided at the government level,” he said.
“With regard to Ukraine, we will provide support to the extent possible, focusing on humanitarian aid, taking into account the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and various domestic circumstances,” Park added. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February of last year, the South Korean government has maintained its stance that “it is impossible to provide lethal weapons,” despite requests from Ukrainian authorities and Western countries such as the United States to provide weapons and ammunition.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.