Summary: The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit is currently underway in Seoul, South Korea, where 53 heads of state and international organizations have come together to discuss international cooperative measures to protect nuclear materials and facilities from terrorist groups. The Nuclear Security Summit comes at a critical juncture. Global terrorist attacks have prompted concerns about nuclear terrorism, and many states may continue to shop for nuclear reactors to meet their energy supply needs, despite the horrific incident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Against this backdrop, world leaders are charged with the difficult task of agreeing on measures that will secure vulnerable materials around the world. In this podcast, FAS President Dr. Charles Ferguson discusses policies implemented as a result of the first summit in 2010, the significance of South Korea hosting the summit and main goals of the 2012 summit. Additionally, Dr. Ferguson discusses the security of radioactive materials, which was the subject of a new paper released in March 2012.
