Grave threat of Nuclear Terrorism -Summit
The second global summit on nuclear security ended to day in Seoul, attended by almost 60 world leaders including President Obama and UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and the Director General of IAEA, Yukiya Amano.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Grave-threat-of...
The summit reviewed ways to strengthen nuclear security and effective management of any threat,laying the
groundwork for international cooperation in the prevention of nuclear terrorism and the secure storage of nuclear materials.
Established at the first summit on the subject held in Washington in 2010, the Global Initiative to Fight against Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), met for a biannual meeting in February in Marrakech, Morocco.This meeting organized by the United States and Spain prepared the issues for discussion at the conference in Seoul.
A communique at the end of the summit reiterated a joint call to secure "vulnerable nuclear material".South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said nuclear terrorism remained a "grave threat",while US President Barack Obama said action was key.
The meeting was dominated by North Korea's threat to launch a rocket in April, which the US says would violate UN resolutions and count as a missile test. South Korea has threatened to shoot the rocket down. Japan has ordered a missile defence system.North Korea says the long-range rocket will carry a satellite when it goes up in April. Iran's development of its nuclear facilities also featured in the topics discussed and President Obama said he would hold discussions on the sidelines of the conference with Russia and China on the issue.
At the meeting, world leaders discussed measures to fight the threat of nuclear terrorism,including the protection of nuclear materials and facilities, as well as the prevention of trafficking of nuclear materials.
The joint communique reaffirmed commitment to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and
peaceful uses of nuclear energy."Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security," it said. "Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and international cooperation given its potential global, political,economic, social and psychological consequences." The communique said.
The communique made no mention of eliminating nuclear weaponsand their are still no agreed regulations on the secure storage of nuclear weapons in the countries that hold them. Concern has been expressed about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal for example.
President Obama warned there were still "too many bad actors'' who were threatening to stockpile and use ''dangerous'' nuclear material."It would not take much, just a handful or so of these materials, to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and that's not an exaggeration, that's the reality that we face," he said.
"The security of the world depends on the actions that we take," the President concluded.
Concern was expressed last year about low grade fissile material which could be used to make a "dirty bomb" which would cause high levels of radiation when exploded.Such a small device could be used by terrorists in large urban areas. A number of weapons and material were said to have disappeared following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Estimates of nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world include Russia;10,000, the US; 8.500; France 300; China,240. More than 90 in India and Pakistan respectively, 80 in Israel andfewer than 10 in North Korea.(Source:Federation of American Scientists).
groundwork for international cooperation in the prevention of nuclear terrorism and the secure storage of nuclear materials.
Established at the first summit on the subject held in Washington in 2010, the Global Initiative to Fight against Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), met for a biannual meeting in February in Marrakech, Morocco.This meeting organized by the United States and Spain prepared the issues for discussion at the conference in Seoul.
A communique at the end of the summit reiterated a joint call to secure "vulnerable nuclear material".South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said nuclear terrorism remained a "grave threat",while US President Barack Obama said action was key.
The meeting was dominated by North Korea's threat to launch a rocket in April, which the US says would violate UN resolutions and count as a missile test. South Korea has threatened to shoot the rocket down. Japan has ordered a missile defence system.North Korea says the long-range rocket will carry a satellite when it goes up in April. Iran's development of its nuclear facilities also featured in the topics discussed and President Obama said he would hold discussions on the sidelines of the conference with Russia and China on the issue.
At the meeting, world leaders discussed measures to fight the threat of nuclear terrorism,including the protection of nuclear materials and facilities, as well as the prevention of trafficking of nuclear materials.
The joint communique reaffirmed commitment to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and
peaceful uses of nuclear energy."Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security," it said. "Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and international cooperation given its potential global, political,economic, social and psychological consequences." The communique said.
The communique made no mention of eliminating nuclear weaponsand their are still no agreed regulations on the secure storage of nuclear weapons in the countries that hold them. Concern has been expressed about the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal for example.
President Obama warned there were still "too many bad actors'' who were threatening to stockpile and use ''dangerous'' nuclear material."It would not take much, just a handful or so of these materials, to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people and that's not an exaggeration, that's the reality that we face," he said.
"The security of the world depends on the actions that we take," the President concluded.
Concern was expressed last year about low grade fissile material which could be used to make a "dirty bomb" which would cause high levels of radiation when exploded.Such a small device could be used by terrorists in large urban areas. A number of weapons and material were said to have disappeared following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Estimates of nuclear weapons stockpiles around the world include Russia;10,000, the US; 8.500; France 300; China,240. More than 90 in India and Pakistan respectively, 80 in Israel andfewer than 10 in North Korea.(Source:Federation of American Scientists).
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Grave-threat-of...