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2012-03-26 08:30

Obama to discuss nuke-free world with S. Korean students

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Meeting with South Korean college students in Seoul on Monday (local time), President Barack Obama will recall his major speech in Prague three years ago on his vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, the White House said.

Obama is on a trip to Korea to attend the second Nuclear Security Summit. He will begin his second-day schedule with a special lecture at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Around 700 students are invited.

"He'll discuss his Prague agenda to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and seek the peace and security of a world without them, including his commitment to safe, clean nuclear energy as part of his comprehensive strategy to develop all sources of American energy," the White House said.

In his speech in Prague in April 2009, which came hours after North Korea's long-range rocket launch, Obama called for the forging of new partnerships to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and end the production of relevant fissile materials.

His remarks led many world governments to place nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation on their main agendas.

A year later, Obama launched a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, in which the leaders of almost 50 nations took part.

"(In the upcoming speech in Seoul), I think you can expect to hear the president speak about his ongoing commitment to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials from terrorists," said Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser at the White House.

"You will hear him discuss his commitment to non-proliferation, including our continued efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, including nonproliferation challenges like Iran and North Korea."

Later in the day, Obama plans to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Chinese President Hu Jintao, all of whom are in Seoul for the two-day Nuclear Security Summit.

Obama will then attend a welcome ceremony and a working dinner, hosted by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, for the participants of the summit.

More than 50 heads of state and chiefs of international organizations are participating in the biennial summit.

Obama and Lee had a one-on-one summit on Saturday, in which they pressed North Korea to drop its plan to shoot a long-range rocket next month.
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