6. Reasons for Focusing on Nuclear Security

Most people imagine that nuclear terrorism is something that only happens in Hollywood movies but experts say the threat of nuclear terrorism is far greater than we may think. Nuclear engineering expert Professor Hwang Il-soon says nuclear terrorism has the potential to cause damage that far exceeds that of the 9/11 terror attacks. [INTERVIEW : Hwang Il-soon, Professor,Nuclear Transmutation Energy Research Center of Korea] ''With illegal trading of nuclear technology growing around Pakistan North Korea and Iran are also arming up with nuclear weapons. Nuclear terrorists who buy the technology and build small-sized nuclear weapons could create a catastrophe around the world.'' The first Nuclear Security Summit was launched a year after U.S. President Barack Obama announced his four-year vision in Prague in 2009. Obama aims to make sure that nuclear materials are not left lying around trafficked or get into the hands of non-state actors who could misuse them to make dirty bombs or nuclear weapons. Although the nuclear summit in Seoul is mainly focused on nuclear terrorism Hans Blix, the former director of IAEA says nuclear disarmament and nuclear security go hand-in-hand. [INTERVIEW : Hans Blix, Former IAEA Director] ''As long as the big nuclear weapons states continue to keep enormous amount of weapons, I think those who have proliferated like North Korea, like others, they may say well what moral right do they have to tell us to do this. So I think disarmament, if it is successful, gives a better moral basis for telling North Korea that it should stay away from nuclear weapons.'' Although the second summit will focus on combating nuclear terrorism experts predict other issues such as non-proliferation disarmament and the North Korean nuclear issue will also be addressed by world leaders. Kim Han-ul, Arirang News. FEB 03, 2012