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| Vice Fisheries Minister Park Sung-hoon, center, speaks during a press briefing on the water being discharged into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear plant at the administrative building in central Seoul, Sept. 13. Yonhap |
The government has received no requests from Tokyo to expand imports of Japanese seafood and plans to maintain the import ban as is, officials said Wednesday, denying a news report that Japan is trying to increase seafood exports to Korea.
Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon made the remark when asked of a report saying state-backed Japan External Trade Organization included Korea among the list of countries to increase seafood exports, as part of the country's efforts to bolster its seafood industry.
"The import ban on seafood produced in eight prefectures near Fukushima will remain in place without exceptions," Park said during the government's daily briefing. "Imported seafood that can pose harm to people's safety and health will never enter" the country.
The media report comes as the government of Japan has recently been seeking new trade routes for its seafood, after its biggest importer, China, imposed an all-out ban on them, raising concerns of safety due to the radioactive water release from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Officials added that the International Atomic Energy Agency has turned down the government's request to have Korean experts stay at its regional office in Fukushima, citing the need to provide "independent assessment" of the release. (Yonhap)
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