S.Korea to boost inspection of seafood imports amid Fukushima concerns

Seoul, April 19 South Korea will conduct a special inspection into the marking of country of origin for imported seafood products on concerns over Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima, the Oceans Ministry said Wednesday.

The two-month intensive inspection in cooperation with the Coast Guard will begin next month to check if importers, distributors and retailers properly mark the origin of major seafood items coming from overseas, such as scallops, sea bream and sea squirts, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

The move comes as concerns have grown over the safety of imported seafood as Tokyo plans to release radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea.

South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013 on concerns over their radiation levels in the wake of the meltdown incident in 2011.

The Seoul government has said it will never lift the import curbs as the people's safety and health can never be compromised.

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