President Lee likely to attend nuclear summit next April

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is expected to
attend an international nuclear security conference to be held in Washington next
April, a diplomatic source here said Monday.

"President Lee is likely to join the Global Nuclear Security Summit advocated by
U.S. President (Barack) Obama. It is to be held from April 12-13," the source
said, asking not to be named.
Experts say the event may affect the Obama administration's approach toward North
Korea and Iran, both of which have displayed unrelenting nuclear ambitions.
A keyword employed by the Obama administration in foreign affairs throughout the
year has been "engagement," reflecting the American president's emphasis on
dialogue with adversaries. Sending special envoy Stephen Bosworth to North Korea
earlier this month was a major sign of that policy, as the visit also helped lay
the groundwork for Obama's handling of the decades-old nuclear crisis.
The upcoming meeting expected to be attended by heads of states from 43 other
nations is to focus on discussing ways to block terrorists from obtaining
nuclear materials, according to the source.
The summit will be followed by the NPT Review Conference, which is scheduled to
take place at U.N. headquarters in New York from May 3-28 next year. The
conference opens every five years. "The meeting will help put pressure on North
Korea," the source said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)

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