Nuclear safety issue to be on agenda at Nuclear Security Summit next year: official

SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to place the nuclear safety issue on the agenda at a global nuclear summit scheduled for next year in Seoul, a South Korean foreign ministry official said Tuesday.
According to the official, Kim Bong-hyeon, South Korea's deputy foreign minister for multilateral and global affairs, and Gary Samore, the U.S. White House coordinator for weapons of mass destruction, counter-terrorism and arms control, reached that agreement for the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit during their talks in Seoul.
"Further specifics on denuclearization discussions and other details will be reviewed down the road," the ministry official said, on the condition of anonymity. The Nuclear Security Summit is set for March 26-27 next year. Washington was the host of the inaugural summit last year.
Officials say nuclear "safety" is a different concept than nuclear "security." The former deals with the risks of nuclear accidents caused by technical faults or natural disasters, and the latter aims to prevent terrorism stemming from the spread of nuclear materials.
At the Seoul meeting next year, leaders are expected to discuss ways to ensure the safety of their nuclear power plants in light of the radiation scare at the Fukushima plant in Japan following a devastating earthquake in the country's northeast. Participants could also discuss potential dangers of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities in North Korea.
In an interview on Monday with Yonhap News Agency, Samore said the relationship between nuclear security and nuclear safety will be discussed at the Seoul summit next spring.
Also on Monday, Kim Sung-hwan, South Korean foreign minister, told a seminar that there is "a high possibility" that North Korean nuclear facilities do not meet international safety standards and that the international community should pay closer attention to nuclear safety in the reclusive regime.