South Korea and Japan have decided to jointly conduct a survey on radioactivity in the East Sea in October, including waters surrounding the South Korean islets of Dokdo, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
The survey, aimed at assessing the degree of radioactive wastes dumped by the former Soviet Union from the 1950s to the 1990s off its eastern port of Vladivostok, will be conducted between Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, said the ministry. Depending on weather conditions, the research period could be extended, it added.
Two vessels, one from each nation, will be dispatched. Three experts from Seoul will be on board the Japanese vessel and vice versa. The two nations will share collected data, the ministry said.
Under the accord, the two nations will also seek to invite representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in their survey, it said.
The two neighboring nations are in dispute over where to draw their exclusive economic zone lines in the East Sea due to Japan's controversial claim on Dokdo. South Korea categorically rejects such a position and maintains that Dokdo's sovereignty is inviolate.
The schedule and related details of the survey were decided after a two-day meeting of working-level officials in Tokyo that ended on Saturday, the ministry said.
In July, Tokyo informed Seoul of a plan to conduct the survey, including waters near Dokdo, unilaterally, which Seoul opposed.
The two sides held a vice ministerial meeting and a working-level meeting in early September and concluded they would conduct the research together.
Seoul, Sept. 17 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea, Japan to conduct joint marine survey in October |
