Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Denmark to attend nuclear security summit

Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Denmark have agreed to take part in a global summit aimed at bolstering international safeguards and preventing nuclear terrorism to be held in March in South Korea, organizers said Thursday.

Their inclusion will bring the number of nations participating in the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul to 50. The Seoul summit will be second since U.S. President Barack Obama launched the global gathering in Washington in 2010, with top leaders from 47 nations attending.

“As the host country, South Korea officially invited the three nations ― Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Denmark ― to the second Nuclear Security Summit in January and they have recently accepted the invitations,” said a senior official at the preparatory secretariat for the upcoming summit.

In addition to the 50 nations, heads of four international organizations, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will participate in the Seoul summit.

Seoul officials said one of the key topics at the Seoul summit would be how to protect vulnerable radioactive materials worldwide so terrorists could not use them to make a crude nuclear bomb.

Other key agenda to be discussed in Seoul will include “practical and concrete” ways to prevent the threat of nuclear terrorism and ensure the safety of atomic energy, they said.

Negotiators from the 50 nations have been in discussions to set agenda for the Seoul summit and the text of a so-called “Seoul Communique” that will be announced at the end of the summit.

Seoul officials said that the Netherlands has agreed to host the third Nuclear Security Summit in 2014. At the Seoul summit, South Korea will likely formally name the Netherlands as the host for the next summit. 

(Yonhap News)