Nuclear Security Summit kicks off in Seoul

SEOUL - The 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit officially kicked off here on Monday, with the participation of leaders and representatives from more than 50 countries and international organizations.

The summit, held under the slogan of "beyond security, towards peace", is a follow-up to the inaugural Washington summit in 2010 where US President Barak Obama set the goal of securing the world's nuclear materials by 2014.

During the working dinner, the world leaders reviewed the achievements made for the past two years since they made individual commitments at the 2010 summit.

Earlier on Monday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan expressed his hope that the forum would help participating countries take concrete action to protect vulnerable nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands.

The leaders will discuss the topics of national measures and international cooperation to enhance nuclear security, as well as future commitments, during the morning session on March 27.  

The Seoul communique, to be adopted on Tuesday, is expected to reaffirm the international commitments to minimizing the use of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium and expand discussions on nuclear safety in the context of nuclear security following the nuclear crisis in Japan.