South Korea reiterated Monday it would push to include fine dust pollution among the agenda items of Korea-China presidential talks and seek cooperation among Northeast Asian countries, stressing its policy priority to tackle the transnational health hazard.

During a policy meeting with the ruling Democratic Party, Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung sought to quell public concerns over particulate matter, underscoring ongoing state efforts such as shutting down aged coal power plants and reducing emissions from diesel vehicles and factories.

"We plan to elevate the ministerial-level issue (of fine dust) to the level involving the leaders of South Korea and China, and by extension to the level of Northeast Asia as a whole," the minister said.
 

"Since the inauguration of the government (in May), we have dealt with the issue of fine dust as a priority, carried out emergency measures such as the shutdown of aged thermal power plants and sought to craft comprehensive measures," she added.

Her ministry plans to announce a comprehensive package of new measures to handle particulate matter emissions Tuesday. 

South Korea has been grappling with worsening air quality, as clouds of fine dust, thought to originate from the western deserts of China and domestic smog, cover the sky with a yellow haze. Fine dust is known to cause various respiratory problems.

The Moon Jae-in administration has pledged to cut fine dust emissions by over 30 percent within its five-year term that ends in 2022 and beef up environmental cooperation with China.

During the party-government meeting, the minister also said her ministry will seek to better protect children and senior citizens deemed more vulnerable to air pollution.

"We plan to reinforce environmental standards, install indoor sports facilities at schools and provide 'care services' that reach out to citizens so that people can actually feel they benefit from the state programs," she said.

Rep. Woo Won-sik, the ruling party whip, said that his party is determined to stage an "all-out war against fine dust to ensure citizens' rights to health."

"We have to ensure that there will be no confusion at kindergartens or schools by fleshing out manuals to respond to fine dust pollution and crafting a scrupulous air quality management system," he said.

"As air pollution is an issue that goes beyond the national boundary, we have to ensure close cooperation with neighboring countries," he added.