By Soo-hyang Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) -South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;will&nbsp;issue&nbsp;a&nbsp;response&nbsp;as&nbsp;soon&nbsp;as possible to the U.N. nuclear watchdog's approval of&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked&nbsp;Fukushima&nbsp;plant into the ocean, a government official said on Wednesday.
After a two-year review, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;plans were consistent with global safety standards and would have a "negligible radiological impact to people and the environment".
Park Ku-yeon, a vice-ministerial official at&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the country respected findings by the IAEA, because it was an internationally recognised organisation.
Seoul would give an assessment of the IAEA's findings when it announces its own review, Park said.
"The government is doing our best to make the announcement as early as possible," Park told a briefing.
Although Seoul and Tokyo have taken steps in recent months to mend ties marred by historic disputes,&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to release the wastewater remains contentious for its closest neighbour, where some consumers have been snapping up sea salt ahead of the release.
South&nbsp;Korean rival parties clashed over the IAEA findings in parliament on Wednesday, with some opposition lawmakers accusing the IAEA of colluding with Japan to support the&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;plan.
President Yoon Suk Yeol's ruling party said it respected the findings and warned the lawmakers against levelling groundless accusations toward the agency.
The main opposition Democratic Party, which holds a majority in parliament, threatened to push for a bill to ban any seafood imports from Japan if it releases water without winning approval from neighbouring countries.
South&nbsp;Korea's Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun said on Tuesday the country will not lift a ban on Japanese food products from the area around the crippled&nbsp;Fukushima&nbsp;nuclear&nbsp;plant until public concern over contamination ease.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, now in Japan, will visit&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;from July 7 to 9 to explain the organisation's findings on&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;planned&nbsp;discharge&nbsp;of water.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Additional reporting by Hyonhee ShinEditing by Ed Davies and Gerry Doyle)

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South Korea to issue soon response to Japan's Fukushima discharge plan