During the Seoul Summit world leaders called for strong action to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism. “Nuclear terrorism continues to be one of the most challenging threats to international security…Defeating this threat requires strong national measures and international cooperation.” said the Seoul communiqué. Summit has urged all countries to accede to international conventions on protecting fissile material, and reaffirmed the central role of, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Participating states tried to create a synergy in their effort towards nuclear security by sharing the best practices.
At least four terror groups, including al-Qaida and Japan's Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, have expressed determination to lay hands on a nuclear weapon, said Kenneth Luongo, co-chair of the Fissile Materials Working Group, a Washington-based coalition of nuclear security experts. Nuclear materials stored at research facilities, health care centres, power plants etc are generally considered less secure than weapons at military installations. Last year's meltdown at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant also shows how terrorists could launch a radiation hazard simply by sabotaging a facility's functions.
Materials that can be used to make nuclear bombs are stored in scores of buildings spread across dozens of countries. Even if a fraction of it falls in the hands of terrorists, it could be disastrous. Evidence by ‘Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB) indicates that it is much easier to possess, steal and traffic materials for Radiological Dispersal Devices (RDDs), or ‘dirty bomb; these devices can be assembled with relative ease. Building a nuclear weapon isn't easy, but a bomb similar to the one that obliterated Hiroshima is "very plausibly within the capabilities of a sophisticated terrorist group," according to Matthew Bunn, an associate professor at Harvard University.
Participants of the first Nuclear Security Summit in Washington were able to evolve an international consensus about the seriousness of this threat; they agreed to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials, worldwide, by the end of 2014. The Washington Summit underlined the need for putting in place minimum security standards for all nuclear reactors, plants, hospitals, and research laboratories.
Building on the tempo, Seoul Summit focused on a framework of 11 core issues: Global nuclear security architecture; role of the IAEA; nuclear materials; radioactive sources; nuclear security and safety; transportation security; combating illicit trafficking; nuclear forensics; nuclear security culture; information security; and international cooperation. Seoul summit agreed to work on securing and accounting for all nuclear material by 2014. While United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 calls upon member states to adopt “effective, appropriate” security standards, and IAEA shares appropriate best practices, the Seoul summit has attempted to provide operational mechanism for implementing these generalities.
