The Nuclear Security Summit: Five Tests of Success in Seoul

As more than fifty-three world leaders convene in Seoul, South Korea for the second global Nuclear Security Summit, North Korea has—predictably—attempted to steal the show by threatening to launch a “satellite” (aka long-range missile) next month. Pyongyang’s latest calculated provocation, though, should not be permitted to overshadow the significance and seriousness of the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit and its potential impact to bolster the global nuclear nonproliferation regime.

The substantive agenda in Seoul will include high-level talks on cooperative measures to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism, protect nuclear materials and related facilities, and prevent illicit trafficking in nuclear materials. Looking beyond the Hermit Kingdom’s need for attention, the Internationalist highlights five central issues to monitor during the summit:

Visit our Global Governance Monitor: Nuclear Nonproliferation for a broader discussion of nuclear security, nuclear safety, and nuclear nonproliferation issues. The entire package has been updated to reflect recent shifts in international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and sensitive technology as well as increasing concerns that Iran is moving closer to developing a nuclear weapon. The updated Monitor highlights how, despite the conclusion of the New START Treaty between the United States and Russia in 2011 as well as the announcement of a U.S.-North Korean compromise agreement in February 2012, the world remains at risk for the most serious effects of unchecked nuclear proliferation.