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Showing Original Post only (View all)Japan, South Korea agree on visit to Fukushima nuclear plant ahead of planned water release [View all]
Source: AP
By MARI YAMAGUCHI today
Japanese and South Korean officials held hourslong talks into early Saturday and agreed on a visit later this month by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water into the sea. The safety of the water is a major sticking point as the two sides work to improve long-strained ties.
Discussions were held Friday in Seoul and online, in which the Japanese government also provided an update on the status of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Officials are preparing to release the water, saying its an unavoidable step for the decommissioning process.
Japans Foreign Ministry, after a nearly 12-hour meeting that ran past midnight, issued a statement early Saturday saying the two sides agreed to have a four-day visit by a South Korean delegation to Japan that includes a Fukushima nuclear plant tour, and that further details, including its program need to be finalized.
The government and the plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, say the water release will begin between spring and summer and take decades to finish.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/japan-south-korea-fukushima-nuclear-water-release-2ae706b9f95c55208683a6c807f22b9c