South Korea is considering ways to hold bilateral consultations with Japan on Tokyo's planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the foreign ministry said Friday.

A local news outlet reported earlier that the two countries agreed to form a consultative group to exchange information and views on risks, verification and legal issues and other details related to the Fukushima water release.

South Korea has expressed concerns about potential health risks after Tokyo said it would start releasing over 1.2 million tons of Fukushima's tritium-laced water into the Pacific Ocean. Seoul has called for Japan to share more information transparently.

"The government's position is that aside from the verification process through the IAEA, bilateral consultations are necessary so that we can deliver our position and receive additional information," the ministry said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"We are reviewing ways to hold bilateral consultations for that matter," it said.

The foreign ministry said earlier it plans to request Japan hold joint consultations of experts from both countries on the issue and to ensure that South Korean experts can take part in the IAEA monitoring. (Yonhap)