Japan, South Korea eye visit by team of experts as Fukushima nuclear plant prepares water release

Officials from Japan and South Korea eyed a potential visit by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water to sea.

Officials from Japan and South Korea eyed a potential visit by South Korean experts to the Fukushima nuclear plant before it begins the controversial release of treated but radioactive water to sea.

It's one of their major sticking points between the two sides that are quickly thawing long-strained ties.

Discussions were to take place later on Friday, and the Japanese government was expected to give updates on the status of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which is preparing for a release of the water, saying it's an unavoidable step to move its decommissioning process forward.

Why is Japan planning to flush Fukushima wastewater into the ocean?

The government and the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), say the release will begin between spring and summer and take decades to finish.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and release large amounts of radiation.

Water used to cool the three damaged reactor cores, which remain highly radioactive, leaked into the basements of the reactor buildings and was collected, treated and stored in about 1,000 tanks that now cover much of the plant.