More than half of the leaders attending the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit had arrived on Sunday for the two-day event kicking off Monday for discussions on combating nuclear threats and better securing nuclear materials.

U.S. President Barack Obama’s Air Force One landed on an American military base in Seoul early in the morning and Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived at the Seoul Air Base in the afternoon.

Thirty-two leaders out of delegations from 53 countries and four international organizations have arrived in Seoul, according to the organizers. The rest of the delegations, including those from France, Germany and Japan were to arrive on Monday.

Unofficial but key issues at the Seoul summit will include North Korean nuclear programs. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Lee agreed Saturday to work together closely to cope with North Korea’s planned rocket launch.

The Seoul summit is the largest-ever diplomatic event in Korean history, bringing together some 5,000 delegates and 3,700 journalists.

The Seoul summit are expected to peak Tuesday afternoon, when the participating countries are to announce the Seoul Communiqu aimed at minimizing or blending down the stocks of highly-enriched uranium and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is to hold an outcome press conference.

The Seoul Communiqu is expected to include new progress made since the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, South Korean government officials said.

Seoul officials also expect the participating countries to announce their individual goals to minimizing global stocks of HEU and plutonium at the summit, to make assessment reports voluntarily, and to report implementation results by 2013 in preparation for the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit in the Netherlands.

Besides the HEU minimization, other key agenda items will include addressing the security of radiological sources and nuclear facilities and preventing illicit trafficking in fissile materials, the organizers said.

Terrorism using nuclear materials such as highly enriched uranium and plutonium would have a massive impact but the probability is low, while terrorism using radioactive materials, widely used in hospitals, would have a smaller impact but the probability is high.

Especially in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster which followed the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ensuring the safety of nuclear plants has become a significant issue at the Nuclear Security Summit.

Leaders are to discuss the agenda during a working dinner on Monday evening, the first plenary session on Tuesday morning, a working lunch and the second plenary session on Tuesday afternoon.

After Lee’s press conference, leaders and their spouses will have a gala dinner and enjoy cultural performances on Tuesday evening.



By Kim Yoon-mi
(yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)