The oceans ministry has distanced the government from the conclusion by two South Korean research institutes that the discharge of contaminated water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant will have a negligible impact on South Korean waters.

During a full session of the National Assembly’s committee on oceans and fisheries on Tuesday, minister Cho Seung-hwan said the conclusions of the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute are not the official position of the government.

The institutes jointly concluded that the discharge of treated water from the plant would not have a significant impact on South Korean waters, estimating that the density of tritium will rise by around one-100-thousandth the previous level with a ten-year discharge starting in March.

Researchers from the organizations said this would be a level so low that it's nearly undetectable using current analysis systems.

Cho said a study on the impact the contaminated water on Korean waters should be carried out through verification by nuclear safety agencies separately from simulation-based studies like the one carried out by the two institutes.