IAEA "Considering Dispatching Multinational Inspection Team Including Korea Over Concerns of Japan's Contaminated Water"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is considering dispatching a multinational investigation team, including experts from South Korea, regarding the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean.

Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General, stated this during an interview with Japan's public broadcaster NHK at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, addressing concerns raised by neighboring countries about Japan's decision to release contaminated water.

Regarding the verification of the safety of the contaminated water discharge, he said, "We will assemble an investigation team with different fields, different countries, and different expertise," adding, "All serious issues will be discussed and analyzed technically."

He also mentioned that they are considering including experts from neighboring countries such as South Korea in the investigation team.

On the participation of experts from neighboring countries like South Korea in the investigation team, Director General Grossi said, "This will be reviewed according to the authority of the IAEA."

He also expressed the intention to reach an agreement with Japan by this summer on the basic composition and activities of the IAEA investigation team and to dispatch it promptly.

Earlier, on the 13th, the Japanese government officially decided on the policy to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. At Fukushima Daiichi, contaminated water is currently generated at an average of 140 tons per day due to rainwater and groundwater flowing into the reactor facilities that exploded during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

In response, the Chinese government has strongly opposed Japan's unilateral discharge of contaminated water. The South Korean government is considering filing a case with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.