S. Korea to work more closely with China to reduce fine dust: PM

The government will strengthen cooperation and information sharing with China to reduce fine dust pollution, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Friday.

The plan, unveiled during a special committee meeting on the fine dust issue, is one of various measures the government plans to carry out to achieve its goal of reducing 108,000 tons of fine airborne particles.

"We have set reducing fine dust as a major government project, and have focused pan-ministry capabilities on it. We will strengthen our cooperative and information sharing relationship with China," Han said in the meeting.

Such a plan comes amid concerns fine dust concentration levels will bounce back once social and economic activities in China recover to pre-pandemic levels, Han said.

Other plans include strengthening the monitoring and control of key fine dust emission sources, coming up with countermeasures against foreign influxes of the pollutants and increasing efforts to improve air quality in everyday locations, such as schools.

China has often been cited as the major source of fine dust polluting the air above South Korea.

In a 2018 survey by the environment ministry, 51.7 percent of respondents said they believe most of the fine dust comes from China and other countries. (Yonhap)