Attendance by Prime Minister Noda at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit (Outline)

March 27, 2012
Arms Control and Disarmament Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Japanese

On March 26-27 the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit was held in Seoul. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda attended events on March 27 (the morning plenary session and the working lunch), an outline of which is as follows. The summit was attended by delegates from 53 countries and four international organizations, including 36 world leaders (from the United States, Russia, China, India, Canada, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, among others). Remarks were made by each country on their initiatives for nuclear security, their basic policies, concrete measures being undertaken, and cooperation and collaboration among states in the area of nuclear security. There was also a lively exchange of opinions among world leaders on the margins of the summit, and a lively exchange of opinions on various bilateral problems and the current issues of the international community.

1. Plenary Session (morning and afternoon of March 27)

(1) Discussion occurred in this session on the theme of "National Measures and International Cooperation to Enhance Nuclear Security, including Future Commitments". Following an opening statement from session chair and President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak, Prime Minister Noda was fourth to speak after remarks by President of the United States Barack Obama, President of the People's Republic of China Hu Jintao, and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev (Attachment 1: "Gist of the Interventions by the Prime Minister of Japan").

(2) Each country noted that nuclear energy is at present an irreplaceable source of energy, and that for its safe use, there is a need to quickly implement concrete measures to prepare against the threat of nuclear terrorism. Many countries also conveyed their basic stance of the need for perseverance in efforts for a world free of nuclear weapons. As measures toward this end, each country remarked on the importance of efforts on disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear safety, in addition to nuclear security.

(3) At the same time, many touched upon Japan's initiatives to deal with the nuclear accident in Fukushima, and not a few voices were heard praising those efforts.

(4) Prime Minister Noda spoke of the steady progress being made toward reconstruction with the support and encouragement of each country, and noted the need to utilize the experience of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and lessons learned from it in efforts to prepare against terrorist attacks and other similar incidents. He also introduced the following points as concrete national measures and international cooperation to enhance nuclear security:

1. (A) In terms of concrete national measures, the Prime Minister noted: 1) efforts to overcome the vulnerabilities in nuclear facilities through the augmenting of power supplies, the increase in stocks of equipment such as radiation-shielded vehicles and survey meters, and the introduction of redundancies in facility protection systems; 2) the strengthening of on-site coordination among various organizations through the thorough revision of response procedures and training, and by conducting joint drills; 3) the reinforcement of the manned guard structure by increasing the number of armed security personnel and strengthening the system of patrols; and 4) the enhancement of information security through the strengthening of measures to cut off the computer systems of nuclear facilities from outside networks.
   
   
2. (B) In terms of international measures, Prime Minister Noda spoke of: 1) the expansion of human and material assistance to developing countries through the Integrated Support Centre for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Nuclear Security; 2) the strengthening of coordination with like-minded countries in areas such as reinforcing security in the field of transportation and enhancing information security; and 3) the strengthening of cooperation with the IAEA.
   
   
3. (C) In addition, in the context of matters related to nuclear non-proliferation, the Prime Minister commented that the nuclear development programs of Iran and North Korea were of grave concern. He said that the launch of a missile by North Korea was against the nuclear non-proliferation efforts of the international community and would be a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and remarked that the international community strongly urged North Korea to exercise restraint and cancel the launch. In addition, in the context of initiatives for nuclear disarmament, Prime Minister Noda called for the early commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) to halt the production of weapons-grade fissile material.

(5) At the end of the morning session, it was decided that the next Nuclear Security Summit would be held in 2014 in the Netherlands, and a leaders' statement, the Seoul Communiqué, was adopted (Attachment 2: "The Seoul Communiqué"[PDF]).

2. Working Lunch (March 27)

In the working lunch that followed the morning session, discussion occurred on the theme of "Nuclear Security-Safety Interface". Prime Minister Noda was second to speak after remarks from Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.

(1) Remarks were made on the relationship between nuclear safety and security realized anew due to the accident in Fukushima, on the synergistic effects between the two fields, and on the role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international organizations.

(2) Prime Minister Noda made the following remarks:

1. (A) The cause of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station may have been a natural disaster, but there are lessons learned from that experience that can be applied to countermeasures for human threats such as terrorist attacks against nuclear facilities.
   
   
2. (B) From that perspective, Prime Minister Noda said that he wanted to share with the international community three important lessons learned from the accident applicable to the field of nuclear security: 1) the importance of preparing for unanticipated risks; 2) the necessity of having a common response plan developed through field drills in order to improve on-site response, such as coordination between police forces and Self-Defense Forces; and 3) the need to always be thinking of and preparing for eventualities, keeping in mind the worst-case scenarios.

3. Working Dinner (evening of March 26)

At the working dinner on the eve of the conference, remarks on progress made since the previous Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC were made by attendees from 12 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, the European Union (EU), and Israel. Each country praised the courageous measures undertaken to deal with the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Remarks touched upon: A) the importance of concrete measures to strengthen protection; B) the need for proper equipment and training, and the importance of cooperation among research organizations in order to strengthen nuclear security; C) the threat posed by the spread of not just nuclear materials but also nuclear technology; D) support for the legal framework for nuclear security (the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540).

4. Other events (bilateral discussions)

Within the limited timeframe, Prime Minister Noda met between sessions at the Nuclear Security Summit with the leaders of many countries and organizations, such as the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Russia, France, India, Italy, New Zealand, and the IAEA. These meetings provided an opportunity for the leaders to further develop their shared view of North Korea's launching of a missile under the guise of "a satellite", and agree on the call for the country to exercise restraint and cancel the launch.

5. Evaluation

(1) This Summit continued on from the Summit in Washington DC in 2010. It saw the participation of more delegations than the previous Summit, with groups from 53 countries, four international organizations and over 30 leaders attending. The participants established the shared recognition that the threat of nuclear terrorism is real, and verified the necessity for each country to take concrete measures to prepare against this threat as well as the importance of coordination among countries to deal with the threat.

(2) In particular, although not even two years have passed since the previous summit, each participating country reported on the concrete progress they had made and the direction of their initiatives with a view to the next summit. More than a mere expression of resolve, it was an action-oriented conference.

(3) In addition, with the Summit being held one year after the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, in the midst of focused attention on the synergistic relationship between nuclear safety and nuclear security, and building upon the lessons learned from the nuclear power station accident, Japan was able to share with world leaders the national measures it is taking to strengthen nuclear security and communicate to the world its contributions to laying the groundwork for promoting international cooperation.

(4) Moreover, amongst voiced recognition of the overlapping nature of nuclear security efforts and initiatives for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and in front of the world leaders gathered at this Summit, including those of the major powers, Prime Minister Noda's strong call for North Korea to exercise restraint in its planned launch of a missile under the guise of "a satellite" was a timely statement on a matter that represents a threat to not only the international non-proliferation regime, but also the national security of Japan.

Seoul Nuclear Security Summit