Japan Assures S. Korea of Safety of Fukushima Water Release

On Wednesday, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol that a planned release of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant conforms to international standards and is safe.

During a meeting in Vilnius on the sidelines of a NATO summit, Kishida and Yoon also agreed to work towards high-level economic talks by the end of this year, according to the Japanese government.

On the discharge of water, Kishida pledged that Japan would take appropriate measures, including an immediate suspension of launches if the concentration of radioactive material from the nuclear plant exceeds the level permitted by safety standards.

Opposition to the discharge remains strong in Japan's neighbors although the International Atomic Energy Agency recently confirmed that the move poses no risk to human health or the environment.

Yoon mentioned that South Korea "respects" the outcome of the UN agency's report that green-lit the Japanese plan, according to the government. 

However, the South Korean president's office said he requested that Japan share real-time monitoring information and allow South Korean experts to participate in the safety-checking process.

After about two years of an independent safety review, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi submitted the report to the Japanese prime minister last week in Tokyo. The discharge is planned to commence around this summer.