By Kim Tae-gyu
Heads of state or their deputies from 53 countries and four international organizations will meet at the COEX in southern Seoul on March 26 and 27 in an attempt to redesign better nuclear security architecture.
As much at stake for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit is the future of nuclear power in South Korea, which is engaged in soul-searching after the recent discovery of the cover-up of an incident at one of its nuclear facilities as well as its perennial nemesis _ North Korea, which is threatening to launch a
satellite using a rocket that has a dual use as an inter-continental ballistic missile.
Already, Pyongyang has tested nuclear devices and is estimated to have several warheads.
North Korea, now under its young leader Kim Jong-un, is telling the world that any statement against the Stalinist state will be regarded as a declaration of war.
Plus, with Japan experiencing a meltdown at its Fukushima plant in a perfect storm of earthquake, tsunami and human error, Korea as well as the rest of the world in Seoul will have the task of coming up with plans for the future of nuclear energy.
The mishap here occurred at the Gori Nuclear Power Plant, the oldest in Korea, which operators had covered up for more than a month after it took place in early February.
``Geographically speaking, South Korea is a place where all topics with regard to nuclear security are directly involved. Accordingly, it may be the most suitable venue to hold the summit,’’ professor Hwang Il-soon at Seoul National University said.
``The event could become a turning point in dealing with nuclear safety issues _ it will hopefully raise awareness of people both at home and abroad as well as come up with substantive solutions to wrestle with nuclear threats.’’
Hwang contended that people pay little attention to nuclear security, which he says is one of the top priorities in the world, and expects things will be better thanks to the summit.
Professor Jun Bong-geun at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy concurs.
``As far as nuclear issues are concerned, Korea is involved in all the aspects _ nuclear weapons in the North, last year’s accidents in Japan, power generation and exports of technology,’’ Jun said.
``Now is the time for middle powers such as South Korea to grapple with the difficult issues since super powers like the United States struggle to do so. The up-and-coming summit could be a catalyst in taking the initiative.’’
South Korea is one of the countries whose dependency on the nuclear energy is the highest; electricity generated from nuclear reactors meets about a third of demand.
During the waning days of 2009, the country also basked in the spotlight by winning an $18.6 billion contract under which it will build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates by 2020.
After attaining this exploit by beating out much-favored rivals from France, the United States and Japan, Korea has attempted to sign similar contracts with other countries including Turkey.