Less than seven months are left until Nuclear Security Summit Seoul 2012, which will take place next March in Seoul.
The two-day gathering, slated to be held on March 26 and 27, 2012, will be the largest ever in Korean history in terms of numbers of participating leaders.
Leaders of more than 50 countries will gather in Seoul for this highest-level summit on international security for denuclearization to discuss the safe use of radioactive materials and ways to enhance international cooperation and strengthen the protective measures of all countries in order to prevent terrorists from accessing nuclear facilities or materials.
Proposed by President Obama of the United States, the first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington D.C. in April last year. Attendees included leaders from 47 countries and representatives from international organizations like the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted the Washington communiqué under the consensus that nuclear terrorism is one of the most challenging threats to international security. The agreed communiqué stated, “We welcome and join President Obama’s call to secure all vulnerable nuclear material in four years, as we work together to enhance nuclear security.”
| The first Nuclear Security Summit was held in Washington, April 2010. |
* Largest ever summit gathering in Korea
The upcoming summit will be the largest international meeting ever held in Korea, as leaders from more than 50 countries and representatives from four international organizations, including the IAEA, the UN, and the European Union, will attend. So far, the G20 Seoul Summit has been considered the country's largest international gathering, with leaders from 32 countries and representatives from eight international bodies attending.
In this regard, President Lee Myung-bak said last year that the G20 Seoul Summit will be a top-level meeting on the economy while the Nuclear Security Summit will be the highest-level meeting on security and peaceful use of the nuclear power industry.
* Agenda for the upcoming summit
As the chair of this Nuclear Security Summit, Korea will select countries to invite, lead all meetings during the two-day event, and bridge the opinion gap between advanced countries and underdeveloped countries and that of countries with or without nuclear power.
Seoul will also lead the draft-making process of the Seoul communiqué, a joint statement which is expected to be adopted by the summit’s participating members. The main agenda of the upcoming summit will touch on safety management for highly enriched uranium and plutonium, the safety of nuclear power, and the issue of dirty bombs, which can be made by terrorists with small quantities of radioactive materials.
Among the mentioned points, the safety of nuclear power was raised after the radiation leak which took place in Fukushima, Japan, earlier this year. The radiation leak from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reminded the world of the potential for widespread damage by radiation and the possibility of attacks on nuclear power plants by nuclear terrorists.
As leaders of more than 50 countries will gather in Korea to discuss nuclear security, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade expects that the upcoming summit will send a grave message to Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program and come forward to the international community.
For this reason, during a presidential visit to Germany earlier this year, President Lee Myung-bak said that he is willing to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to Seoul for the Nuclear Security Summit next year if Pyongyang commits to denuclearization and joins the international community.
Therefore, the upcoming summit will provide an opportunity to broaden the scale of discussion in the international community and firm up the international response system on nuclear security.
| (From left) Prime Minsiter Kim Hwang-sik (center) speaks on September 9 at a meeting of the preparation committee for the Nuclear Security Summit Seoul 2011 (Yonhap News); // Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-Hwan speaks on September 5 at a meeting of the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit Preparatory Secretariat (Yonhap News). |
* Raising public awareness on the Nuclear Security Summit
To prepare for the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit, the Korean government formed a preparation committee in October last year chaired by Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik. In March this year, the government established the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit Preparatory Secretariat led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-Hwan, who has been actively engaged in public relations activities to raise public awareness on nuclear security and the upcoming summit.
On September 8, the Preparatory Secretariat launched homepages in Korean and English (www.seoulnss.go.kr) to provide general information about the upcoming summit, including the agenda for the summit, the summit schedule, and media support.
It also provides information on the previous nuclear summit in Washington, including related official documents, and information for the upcoming summit about the participating countries, international organizations, and experts.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
