2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit

Our magazine's March issue will carry a special report on the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, to be held in Seoul from March 26-27. The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit will coincide with 2012 Seoul Nuclear Industry Summit, to be held in the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul from March 23-24. The Nuclear Security Summit is a premiere international forum that aims to stop and prevent nuclear terrorism which has emerged as a serious threat and challenge to global security in the 21st century. As a premiere forum, more than fifty heads of state and four representatives of major international organizations participate in the Nuclear Security Summit to discuss ways to promote international cooperation and enhance protective measures for nuclear materials and facilities from being exploited by terrorists.
Currently, it is estimated that 1,600 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and 500 tons of plutonium, which is enough nuclear material to make approximately 126,500 nuclear weapons, are scattered around the world. If terrorists detonated just a single nuclear weapon in the middle of a highly popularized city, it will take the lives of tens of hundreds of thousands of people and also cause a catastrophe at the global level by paralyzing the interconnected global society and financial network in an instant. Political, social, and environmental consequences will be massive.
Since nuclear terrorism is a universal issue of the international community, the Nuclear Security Summit carries an important meaning in that world leaders gather to share a common perception on the threat of nuclear terrorism and discuss concrete actions to counter the threat. The Nuclear Security Summit represents the joint effort of the global community to elicit shared understan-ding and practical measures to bolster nuclear security. Nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy could be sustained. Moreover, nuclear security constitutes an important base over which three pillars of the NPT stand in realizing a world without nuclear weapons. nw