By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Reuters) -&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;safety&nbsp;experts&nbsp;who visited&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;wrecked Fukushima&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;power&nbsp;plant said on Wednesday that detailed analysis was&nbsp;needed&nbsp;to verify&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to release tonnes of contaminated&nbsp;water&nbsp;from it into the sea.
The Fukushima Daiichi&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;station, about 220 km (130 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was destroyed by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in 2011, triggering three reactor meltdowns.
Japan&nbsp;plans to dump&nbsp;more&nbsp;than one million tonnes of contaminated&nbsp;water&nbsp;that was mainly used to cool the reactors into the sea by around this summer, triggering alarm at home and abroad, especially in fishing communities.
"Given our closest location, we are reviewing whether Japan has an appropriate discharge&nbsp;plan&nbsp;from a scientific and technological standpoint," Yoo Guk-hee, chairman of the&nbsp;Nuclear&nbsp;Safety and Security Commission, who led a delegation on a site visit last week, told a briefing.
The Japanese utility responsible for the&nbsp;plant, and the Japanese government,&nbsp;say&nbsp;the&nbsp;water&nbsp;is safe after being treated, filtered and diluted though it does contain traces of tritium.
Yoo said there had been progress in checking facilities and securing samples and documents but further work was&nbsp;needed&nbsp;to reach any conclusion about the&nbsp;water's safety.
"Additional detailed analysis and checks are required," he said.
The 21-member&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean team had focused during its six-day trip on&nbsp;water&nbsp;purification, transport and release equipment, as well as sampling and analysis facilities.
The visit came days after President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit in Seoul this month amid a thaw in relations following years of tension between the neighbours, both important U.S. allies.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is also conducting a safety review of&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to release the&nbsp;water. It is expected to announce its results in coming weeks.
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(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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