Nuke summit ends, seeks to lock up loose nuke materials in 4 yrs+

WASHINGTON, April 13 Kyodo -
Wrapping up a two-day summit on nuclear terrorism, leaders from 47 nations
agreed in Washington on Tuesday to aim to lock down all vulnerable nuclear
materials worldwide within four years, as advocated by host U.S. President
Barack Obama.
Describing nuclear terrorism as ''one of the most challenging threats to
international security,'' a joint communique issued after the meeting said that
strong nuclear security measures are ''the most effective means to prevent
terrorists, criminals, or other unauthorized actors from acquiring nuclear
materials.''
The nations that took part in the Nuclear Security Summit, the first such event
ever held, reaffirmed their ''fundamental responsibility'' to ensure security
for all nuclear materials, including those used in weapons and for nuclear
facilities.
The communique stated that South Korea will host the next summit on nuclear
security in 2012.
''We have made real progress in building a safer world,'' Obama said at a press
conference. ''This has been a day of great progress, but...this can't be a
fleeting moment. Securing nuclear materials must be a serious and sustained
global effort.''
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who proposed a plan to establish in
Japan a facility designed to develop human resources for the prevention of
nuclear terrorism in Asia, also emphasized the significance of the summit.
''It is significant we concluded that the world should work together, build a
network and share information to contain nuclear terrorism,'' he said. ''In
that sense, President Obama demonstrated his leadership.''
Hatoyama, who has noted that he leads the only country to have experienced
atomic bombings, also said he ''thinks Japan successfully showed its
presence.''
The leaders also underscored the importance of ''robust national legislative
and regulatory frameworks for nuclear security,'' according to the document.
The participants, which include all five declared nuclear states -- Britain,
China, France, Russia and the United States -- called for the implementation of
''special precautions'' against highly enriched uranium and separated
plutonium, which can be diverted to weapons.
The document urged the nations to ''fully implement all existing nuclear
security commitments'' and ''work toward acceding to those not yet joined,
consistent with national laws, policies and procedures.''
The countries recognize the need for concerted international efforts to promote
capacity building, technological development and ''effectively prevent and
respond to incidents of illicit nuclear trafficking.''
They agreed to promote ''the implementation of strong nuclear security
practices that will not infringe upon the rights of states to develop and
utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technology'' and that related
industries, including private firms, should also play a role in keeping nuclear
materials out of the hands of terrorists.
The nations also reaffirmed the ''essential role of the International Atomic
Energy Agency in the international nuclear security framework.''
The work plan, which was released with the communique, urges the nations to use
low enriched uranium instead of highly enriched fuel ''where it is technically
and economically feasible,'' and consolidate national sites where nuclear
materials are held so they can secure thorough control of the materials.
The plan also calls on the participants to ''build regulatory capacity and
ensure sufficiently trained and fully vetted professional nuclear security
staff and adequate resources.''
Among the other participants, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in a speech
Tuesday that Beijing is against nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism and
pledged to work together with the international community in the fields of
nuclear security and peaceful use of nuclear power.
This marked the first time that a Chinese leader has clarified the country's
position on nuclear security at an international conference, according to the
Chinese government.
Hu said China will strengthen export controls for nuclear materials and step up
its crackdown on illegal sales and transportation.
China will set up a nuclear security center to provide developing countries
with the know-how on the prevention of nuclear proliferation, the Chinese
president said.
According to Japanese government officials, Hatoyama suggested Tuesday that
Japan and China, as well as India, which also had a similar idea of building a
security center, can cooperate on the envisioned support facilities.
India and Pakistan, which possess nuclear weapons but have refused to sign the
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, as well as Israel, the only country in the
Middle East suspected of having a nuclear arsenal, also attended the security
summit.
Neither North Korea, which quit the NPT in 2003, nor Iran, suspected of
developing nuclear weapons, was invited.
On top of the IAEA, representatives of the United Nations and the European
Union also joined the unprecedented summit.
The gathering came after Obama announced April 6 a new U.S. nuclear strategy
that aims to limit the circumstances in which the country would use nuclear
weapons, and after the U.S. president and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
signed a landmark strategic nuclear disarmament treaty on Thursday in Prague.
The Washington event, proposed by Obama in a speech in Prague in April 2009,
was also aimed at boosting momentum ahead of an NPT review conference scheduled
to be held in May in New York, which is held once every five years.
==Kyodo