Police apprehended 16 university students who attempted to break into the Japanese Embassy in central Seoul on Thursday in protest of Japan's discharge of radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant, announced earlier in the day that it began releasing the first batch of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, despite concerns from neighboring countries and fishing groups in the region.
According to the police, the students, who had gathered on the eighth floor of the building housing the Japanese Embassy, attempted to enter the embassy office at around 1 p.m. while shouting slogans condemning the discharge of radioactive water.
The police detained them on charges of trespassing and violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act.
Source: Yonhap News Agency