1. On the morning of March 6, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Dohoon, who is on a visit to Vienna, Austria, delivered remarks under the theme “Nuclear and radiation safety” at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors. In his remarks, Vice Minister Lee expressed the Korean government’s clear position that the contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan should be disposed of in scientifically and objectively safe manner, while adhering to relevant international law and standards.

o Vice Minister Lee stressed that the safety of the Japanese side’s plan for discharging the contaminated water into the sea should be scientifically and thoroughly examined by the IAEA in accordance with the international nuclear safety standards, and appreciated the IAEA’s efforts to do so, while asking it to release a comprehensive report including the results of the examination as early as possible.

o Vice Minister Lee also emphasized that to enhance the transparency of the IAEA’s activities, experts and research institutes of countries concerned, including Korea, need to continue participating in the review process.

o In addition, Vice Minister Lee urged the Japanese government to address this issue in a responsible manner, by cooperating fully with requests relating to thorough safety reviews and assessments, and by promptly and transparently sharing all relevant information.

2. On the occasion of the Board of Governors meeting, Vice Minister Lee was briefed in detail by Chair of the IAEA’s Task Force Gustavo Caruso on the progress in its review, and they discussed the IAEA’s plans for review.

o Chair of the Task Force Caruso has led four missions to Japan to review the safety of the discharge so far.

3. Furthermore, Vice Minister Lee visited the IAEA’s laboratory in Seibersdorf which is analyzing the components of the contaminated water that was treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), and was given an explanation on the process of analyzing contaminated water and made a tour of the facility.

o During the visit, considering that analyzing the components of contaminated water is a key part of the corroboration on the safety of the disposal of the contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Vice Minister Lee requested that the IAEA announce the results of the analysis as early as possible.

4. On March 7, Vice Minister Lee will have a separate meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, in which he will deliver the Korean government’s position once again and discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between Korea and the IAEA in reviewing the safety of the disposal of the contaminated water.