South Korea's government said on Friday it respected the UN nuclear energy watchdog's review of Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean and said it met international standards.

Seoul announced its own assessment after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave the greenlight this week to Japan's plan, despite concerns over safety in some neighboring countries and signs of a consumer backlash.

"Based on a review of the treatment plan of contaminated water presented by Japan, we have confirmed concentration of radioactive material meets standards for ocean discharge," Bang Moon-kyu, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, told a briefing.

"Therefore the plan meets international standards including those of the IAEA," he said. 

Bang said South Korea respected the findings of the IAEA since the report was based on a task force of global experts set up by an established international agency.

The plan to discharge the treated water from the Fukushima plant is also expected to "not have any meaningful impact on our ocean areas," Bang said.

(Cover: An official measures radiation levels of scallops imported from Japan as they conduct a radioactivity check, which have been conducted regularly since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, at Noryangjin fisheries wholesale market in Seoul, South Korea, July 6, 2023. /Reuters)