China to Share Pollution Data with Korea

China has at long last agreed to share about air pollution with Korea as toxic haze regularly drifts across to the peninsula.

Beijing agreed to share air pollution data gathered from about 990 observation stations in some 330 Chinese cities, the Environment Ministry here said Wednesday.

"China agreed in principle to cooperate in revealing the amount of pollutant emissions, as well as air pollution data," Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu said. "We expect to reach a concrete agreement at a meeting of vice environment ministers in the second week of March and at a Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo environment ministers' meeting in April."

Meanwhile, toxic haze will linger in the Seoul metropolitan area on Thursday. The concentration of fine particles in the Seoul area will reach the dangerous level of 121~200㎍/㎥' and in Gangwon, Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang provinces the mildly dangerous level of 81~120㎍/㎥' as a result of haze from China mixed with pollutants already accumulated here, the National Institute of Environmental Research said.

People were advised to avoid venturing outdoors for a long time and wear dust masks.

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