SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Five opposition lawmakers plan to visit the United States and Europe this week to garner global support against Japan’s ongoing discharge of water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Tuesday.
Reps. Lee Soo-jin and Lee Yong-sun from the DP are set to depart for New York on Thursday along with Rep. Kang Eun-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party and civic group members, ahead of an upcoming meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the party said.
During their five-day trip, they plan to meet with lawmakers in Washington and attend two demonstrations against the release over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Reps. Woo Won-shik, who heads the DP’s task force on the issue, and Yang Yiwonyoung are set to embark on a five-day trip to Europe on Saturday to visit the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Switzerland.
The two lawmakers are scheduled to meet with the IMO’s secretary general and the UNHRC’s special rapporteurs for food, environment and health, the party said.
Earlier, the DP and three other opposition parties filed a petition with the UNHRC, asserting Japan’s disposal of radioactive water into the ocean violates multiple international agreements.
(Yonhap)