World powers on Tuesday said they would cooperate better to take down the threat of nuclear terrorism during a summit in South Korea.
France, the United Kingdom, and the United States “each understand the threat of nuclear terrorism and share the collective responsibility to inform and strengthen international measures designed to secure sensitive information, technology or nuclear material from access by terrorists,” reads a statement from the White House.
The governments said they would enhance the protection of nuclear materials, nuclear facilities, and prevent the trafficking of those materials.
They also affirmed nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and would only use nuclear energy with peaceful purposes.
“We will seek, wherever possible, to engage with the international community to further strengthen worldwide preparedness to contend with the threat of nuclear terrorism,” the statement reads.
The nuclear summit in Seoul, however, was dominated by North Korea’s plans to launch a rocket next month—a move that has been condemned by the United States, South Korea, the United Nations, and Japan.
North Korea said on Tuesday that it will still go ahead with launching a rocket to try to put a satellite in orbit, despite warnings from President Barack Obama that it would likely not receive food aid for breaching a previous contract with the United States.
Pyongyang “will not give up the satellite launch for peaceful purposes, which is a legitimate right of a sovereign state and requirement essential for economic development,” its state-run media was quoted by CNN.