Interview: China demonstrates strong commitment to nuclear security: UN official

China has demonstrated its strong commitment to enhancing nuclear security culture for the whole world, said Kim Won-soo, UN under-secretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, on Tuesday.

Coming back from the fourth and the last Nuclear Security Summit, which concluded over the weekend in Washington, Kim said that throughout the process, China has made important contributions.

China is doing a lot to improve nuclear security culture, including establishing a nuclear security Center of Excellence, strengthening internal legislation and taking inventory of radioactive sources and other related security and safety measures, said Kim in an interview with Chinese media.

China has been training Chinese staff involved in the nuclear sector, and organized lots of workshops with the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to provide training for those countries that need to build capacities for their own national stand, Kim added.

Speaking of the Nuclear Security Summit, Kim said it has successfully raised the awareness of the world leaders at the highest level about the seriousness of nuclear security and terrorism.

"The risk involved in nuclear security is for every country. If any of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) usable material ends up in the wrong hands, that threat is not for one country, but for many countries in the world," said Kim.

Noting the recent development that several non-state actors including the Islamic State (IS) are trying to get hold of WMD material, Kim warned that although many countries do not have nuclear radioactive, chemical or biological materials, they might as well be involved if a bad incident happens.

Once these materials were stolen, they would be transited through many countries and then they might be used in countries along the way for terrorist purposes, he explained.

"So all these countries involved should build their capacities to prevent and respond to this type of incident," said Kim. "We have to help them build their capacities, so we can prevent (and) also we can respond quickly and effectively before any stolen material would actually be used for terrorist purposes."

To this end, Kim mentioned that in the process of the summit, a lot of commitments have been made by the governments to improve nuclear security and to take other necessary measures in place, including a joint statement issued by China and the United States on nuclear security cooperation.

"The gist of the outcome of this summit is all countries should cooperate to minimize the risk," he said, adding that there are several stages like prevention and response that need the engagement of the international community.

Looking ahead, Kim said although the current format of summit process will be ended in Washington, all countries have agreed to sustain the political momentum through the IAEA ministerial conference every three years.

"And also in the meantime, world leaders agree to reserve the option of meeting again at the highest level if any future development requires the leaders' engagement," he added. Endi