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At the Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, D.C. on April 13 (EDT), the Republic of Korea was chosen as the host of the next Summit in 2012.
After President Barack Obama declared the opening of the Summit and explained the purpose of the meeting, he designated Korea as the host of the Second Nuclear Security Summit, which was unanimously approved by the participating leaders. The President Lee Myung-bak responded by shaking hands with President Obama and accepting the honor.
In the first session of the Summit held in the morning, the President took the podium as the first presenter to introduce Korea’s measures for the physical protection of nuclear materials, the agenda topic of the first session. He also laid out what contributions Korea would make to the international community.
Significance of Korea’s Hosting of the Nuclear Security Summit
The United States and other participating nations at the Summit actively supported Korea’s hosting of the next Nuclear Security Summit considering the following two points: Korea has complied with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in good faith and followed other related international norms, setting an example of utilizing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The Korean Peninsula bears a crucial significance in terms of resolving nuclear issues.
Among other things, the positive role of the United States has been of great help in the Republic’s hosting of the next Summit. The close Korea-U.S. alliance as well as profound trust and cooperative ties between the two Presidents were reflected in the decision.
The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit will serve as a significant opportunity to examine in a concrete manner the world’s interest in and commitment to nuclear security forged at the Summit this year. On the occasion of the 2012 Summit, the Republic will be able to widely publicize the superiority of its nuclear technologies in terms of safety, thereby further cementing the groundwork for the domestic nuclear industry to make inroads into overseas markets.
Since Korea is directly involved in trying to solve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the hosting of the next Summit is expected to achieve various effects. It is expected to help rally the international community to make a stronger commitment to resolving the North Korean nuclear problem.
Korea’s projected hosting of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit along with the November 2010 G-20 Summit demonstrates that Korea’s status and prestige is rising in the international community, as the G-20 meeting is the world’s premier economic consultative body and the Nuclear Security Summit is the highest-level conference in global nuclear security.
The first Nuclear Security Summit in Washington is the largest gathering of world leaders hosted by the United States in recent history, and the second meeting in Korea promises to be the largest summit Korea will have hosted in its history.
As the host of the 2012 Summit, the Korean Government will make certain that all the participating countries will be able to examine implementation of the measures they committed to at the Washington Nuclear Summit while assisting them in establishing new goals. In the course of preparation, it will also make leading contributions to establishing a substantial agenda for the Second Nuclear Security Summit.
Preparation for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit
The Korean Government will make thorough preparations for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in consultation with other major nations, including the United States, the host of the first Summit.
To ensure the complete success of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, all the Government ministries and agencies will be involved in the preparation efforts. In addition, working-level officials from participating Governments will hold meetings at least four times a year. The exact dates, places and other relevant matters will be made public as the preparation progresses.
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