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.
While expressing respect over recent U.N. nuclear watchdog findings at Fukushima, Yoon requested the dispatch of South Korean experts in light of concerns about Japan’s plan to discharge the plant’s radioactive wastewater, his office said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan will not release anything that might bring a negative health and environmental impact on South Korean citizens. Kishida pledged to halt the release of water immediately if its radioactive levels exceeded safety standards.
Yoon and Kishida also agreed to resume high-level economic dialogue this year, Yoon’s office said.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Heinrich)
