FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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PM attends nuclear summit in South Korea

PM attends nuclear summit in South Korea

World leaders concluded a second summit on nuclear security yesterday, reporting "substantive progress" in their efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism and pledging to give the United Nations nuclear watchdog a leading role in bolstering atomic security.

 

Among the leaders was Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She said that although Thailand is in a nuclear-free zone, it was necessary for the Kingdom to share information and create better understanding on the issue for the sake of national security and to ensure public safety in case of possible nuclear proliferation in the region. 
Multilateral cooperation will ensure both foreign investors and visitors regarding Thailand’s security measures and anti-nuclear weapons standards, said Yingluck, who is scheduled to return to Bangkok early today.
Concluding the final session of the two-day Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, leaders adopted the “Seoul Communique”, which encourages nations to minimise the use of weapons-grade uranium by the end of next year.
“We recognise that the Nuclear Security Summit is a valuable process at the highest political level, supporting our joint call to secure all vulnerable nuclear material,” the document said. “In this regard, we welcome the substantive progress being made on the political commitments of participating states.”
Leaders from 53 nations and four international organisations, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the summit, which aims to end the threat of nuclear terrorism.
The Seoul summit was a follow-up to the first summit hosted by Obama in Washington in 2010, when leaders focused on strengthening the security of fissile material and securing against nuclear terrorism.
In Seoul, the leaders assessed accomplishments of commitments made in Washington and laid out more concrete actions to halt nuclear terrorism and illicit trafficking.
The 13-point Seoul Communique set out a number of general pledges in which nations voluntarily agreed to bolster protection of loose nuclear materials.
“We also encourage states to consider the safe, secure and timely removal and disposition of nuclear materials from facilities no longer using them, as appropriate, and consistent with national security considerations and development objectives,” it said.
In the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, calls have grown for the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carry out more stringent inspections and for better cooperation and crisis management among nuclear regulators.
The potential threat of nuclear terrorism was highlighted by the Fukushima disaster because it showcased the extent of potential damage if terrorists were to sabotage key systems of a nuclear power plant such as a power supply or cooling system, experts said.
The document reaffirmed the key role of the IAEA.
A third summit is set for the Netherlands in 2014.
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