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Rafael Grossi (second from left, front row), director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, receives South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (right, front row) at the Vienna International Center on May 10. (Herald DB)
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The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit South Korea later this week to discuss the watchdog's safety review of Japan's planned release of water from its crippled Fukushima plant, an official said Tuesday.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will arrive Friday after a four-day trip to Japan aimed at delivering the results of the IAEA's final report, which is widely expected to approve the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean.
Park Ku-yeon, the first deputy chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the director will then come to South Korea for a three-day trip, including a meeting with the head of the country's nuclear safety watchdog, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.
"Besides, Director General Grossi is expected to have other schedules, such as a meeting with the foreign minister," Park told a daily briefing on the Fukushima issue.
Japan has not yet specified a date for the start of the water release, which is expected to take place over the next few decades, pending the IAEA's final review and approval from its nuclear regulatory body, despite opposition from neighboring countries.
In response to heightened public concern, the Seoul government launched a daily press briefing earlier last month to keep the public updated on the planned release of contaminated water from the plant into the ocean. (Yonhap)
