S.Korea to intensify radiation tests on seawater amid Fukushima concerns

South Korea will more than double the number of maritime spots under emergency radiation tests to ease concerns over Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the Oceans Ministry said on Tuesday.

Last month, South Korea began conducting radiation tests on ocean water at 92 points around the Korean Peninsula, and it will add 108 more coastal spots to beef up the monitoring of radioactivity levels, Vice Oceans Minister Park Sung-hoon said during a regular briefing on the Fukushima issue.

The samples will be collected from the seas to the east, west and south of South Korea, as well as the waters off the southern resort city of Jeju and even from more distant areas, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Japan plans to release radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea soon, as the International Atomic Energy Agency found Tokyo's plan to be consistent with its safety standards after a two-year review.

South Korea will employ a "rapid analysis method" to draw results in a swift manner, rather than using traditional inspection methods that generally take more than two months, Park added.

"It will take around four days to get the analysis results," he said. "We will announce them when they are available on a daily basis."

The official also said waters at the country's 20 major beaches were found to be safe according to recent radiation tests.

In June, the Seoul government launched an inspection into the beaches, including Hamdeok Beach on Jeju Island and Gyeongpo Beach in the east coast city of Gangneung, ahead of the summer vacation season.