COPENHAGEN, 26 March 2012 – With a two-day summit on nuclear security beginning in Seoul, South Korea, today, Karl-Georg Wellmann, chair of the OSCE PA's General Committee on Political Affairs and Security, said that he hopes for strong pledges from the participants on improving the protection of nuclear facilities and radioactive materials, as well as for reducing nuclear stockpiles and deployed strategic nuclear weapons.

"I welcome the holding of the Seoul summit, an initiative of the U.S. government, and I hope that it results in concrete pledges to improve nuclear security," said Wellmann, a member of the German Bundestag.

"While focusing on the practical aspects of securing nuclear facilities and ensuring that radioactive materials don't fall into the wrong hands, it is important for participants to remember the ultimate goal: a world free of nuclear weapons. To achieve this, the world's leading nuclear states, particularly the Russian Federation and the United States, should make concrete pledges to reduce their nuclear stockpiles."

In its 2010 Oslo Declaration, the OSCE PA endorsed the commitment of the participating States to support international and regional co-operative efforts to stop the illicit trade in nuclear material and the transfer of nuclear weapon technology to non-nuclear States and actors. The PA also welcomed the bilateral efforts between the United States of America and the Russian Federation to further reduce the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons.