South Korea has called for global attention and joint efforts to address a possible move by Japan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster site into the Pacific Ocean. 

First Vice Minister of Science and ICT Mun Mi-ock made the call on Monday during a keynote speech at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) in Austria.

The vice minister expressed concern over the issue, noting that senior Japanese government officials recently mentioned the inevitability of discharging the radioactive water into the ocean.

Vice Minister Mun urged the IAEA to play an active role in addressing the issue, saying that it's no longer a Japanese domestic problem but a grave international issue that can affect the global maritime environment.

During the IAEA General Conference, which will run through Friday in Vienna, a South Korean delegation led by Mun plans to meet with Cornel Feruta, acting Director General of the IAEA, to highlight the importance of the IAEA's role in dealing with the nuclear wastewater issue.