Nuclear Meltdown

ROK restricts food imports from Japan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-25 17:19

SEOUL - South Korea announced Friday it will temporarily block imports of some food from radiation-contaminated Japanese regions.

The ban is imposed on items including leaf vegetables such as spinach and cabbage, after Japan warned against eating vegetables grown near the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.

It has been put into effect immediately and will not be lifted until fear of radioactive contamination dies down, according to the office of Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, who presided over the government meeting.

The decision came two days after South Korea said it will temporarily suspend imports of Japanese food if feared to be tainted with radiation. It said products guaranteed by the Japanese government to be radioactive-free will be allowed into the country.

Authorities here have also toughened checks for radioactive contamination of food imported from the quake-ravaged neighboring country, after the World Health Organization warned the detection of radiation in Japanese food appears to be a much more serious issue than initially believed.

Radiation leaks from crippled nuclear reactors in the northeastern Japanese province of Fukushima have gotten South Koreans worried about potential impacts of radiation on the country, only a two-hour flight away.