South Korea to challenge Japan's plans to release contaminated Fukushima water into sea

South Korea will challenge Japan’s decision to release treated water from Fukushima nuclear reactor. President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday urged officials to explore the options of moving an international court to prevent Japan from releasing radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the ocean.

Since Japan announced the plan to release the water, environmental and fisheries groups have protested against the decision.

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On Tuesday, Japan announced plans to release over 1 million tonnes of contaminated water into the ocean from Fukushima, which was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Over the last few years, Japan has filtered the water to remove harmful isotopes.

Reuters reported that South Korea strongly rejects the move, and has summoned the Japanese ambassador in South Korea Koichi Aiboshi. In addition, the country has also convened an emergency meeting of government agencies to carve out a response.

On Wednesday, Moon suggested looking into options to take Japan to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, according to his spokesperson Kang Min-seek.

Aiboshi arrived in South Korea as the ambassador in February. "I cannot but say that there are much concerns here about the decision as a country that is geologically closest and shares the sea with Japan," Moon told Aiboshi, as claimed by Reuters.

(With inputs from agencies)