Past Events

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Asan Leadership Forum
 
“Leadership for Nuclear Governance”
 
The Asan Institute for Policy Studies hosted the inaugural Asan Leadership Forum: “Leadership for Nuclear Governance,” from December 12-13, 2011 in Seoul, Korea.
 
To maximize the success and impact of the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit, the Asan Leadership Forum brought together a group of “wise men” comprising senior political, diplomatic, and military leaders from around the world to discuss relevant nuclear issues.
 
An objective of the forum was to draw public attention to the urgent need for a comprehensive reassessment of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament issues in order to achieve the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. The forum also examined nuclear safety and nuclear security issues in light of the Fukushima disaster and longstanding concerns about the weaponization of nuclear materials as the use of nuclear energy increases. Conference sessions included: 1) “Leadership for Denuclearization in North Korea”; 2) “After Fukushima: Leadership for Strengthening Nuclear Safety”; 3) “Towards a Successful 2012 Nuclear Security Summit”; and 4) “Road to Nuclear Zero in the Asia-Pacific: Nonproliferation and Disarmament”.
 
The Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN), which was established to foster regional cooperation on nuclear issues, sent a nine-member delegation to participate in the forum. The delegation was led by Gareth Evans, former Australian foreign minister. The European Leadership Network for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation (ELN) also sent its own delegation comprised of six members. In addition, several prominent wisemen from Korea including former Prime Minister Lee Hong Koo and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Han Sung-Joo also participated in the discussions. During the forum, the APLN released a public statement containing concrete recommendations for developing nuclear policy in the Asia Pacific region as well as for dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue.