Anchor: The South Korean government says it respects the International Atomic Energy Agency's(IAEA) final report on Tuesday that assessed Japan's planned discharge of Fukushima plant wastewater to be in conformity with international safety standards. However, Seoul has yet to assess the specifics of the report with its own review still ongoing.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: The International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) has assessed that Japan's planned discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant is in accordance with international standards.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi revealed the assessment in a news conference held on Tuesday after he delivered the UN agency's final verification report on the safety of planned discharge to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

[Sound bite: IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi]
"Today I can say that after this effort that has been carried out by the task force that I put together, within the IAEA and with the assistance and advice of prestigious experts on radio protection from all over the world, including from neighboring countries, that the plan as it has been proposed and revised is in conformity with the agreed international standards."

The IAEA chief said the report sums up his agency's work over the past two years, adding that it will continue to verify the safety of the water from the Fukushima plant during the discharge phase with a continuous on-site presence.

The treated radioactive water is currently stored in more than one-thousand tanks, which are nearing the one-point-37 million ton capacity.

Amid escalating political discord in South Korea in response to the IAEA report, first vice minister of government policy coordination Park Gu-yeon said Seoul respects the IAEA's conclusion.

[Sound bite: Park Gu-yeon, First Vice Minister of Government Policy Coordination(Korean/English Translation)]
"We have expressed our basic position of respecting the decision made by the IAEA, which is an internationally acknowledged institution. Our government has been conducting our own review by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety for the past two years. That process is in its final phase and when we announce the results, we plan to also explain our analysis of the IAEA report so we ask everyone to wait just a little longer."

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei daily reported that Tokyo is set to begin fine-tuning details to push ahead with the water release as early as next month, while seeking to win over opponents of the plan both at home and abroad.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.