SEOUL – US president Barack Obama vowed yesterday to pursue further cuts in nuclear arms with Russia while urging China to follow suit and issuing stern warnings to North Korea and Iran over their nuclear stand-offs with the West.
Acknowledging that the US has more warheads than necessary, Mr Obama held out the prospect of new reductions in the US arsenal as he sought to rally world leaders for firmer steps against the threat of nuclear terrorism.
“We can already say with confidence that we have more nuclear weapons than we need,” Mr Obama told students at South Korea’s Hankuk University before a global nuclear security summit opened in Seoul. He pledged a new arms-control push with incoming Russian president Vladimir Putin when they meet in May. But any further reductions would face stiff election-year opposition from Republicans in Congress who already accuse him of weakening America’s nuclear deterrent.
Mr Obama laid out his latest strategy against the backdrop of nuclear defiance from North Korea and Iran, twin challenges that have clouded his overall nuclear agenda and the summit in Seoul. He had set expectations high in a 2009 speech in Prague when he declared it was time to seek “a world without nuclear weapons”.
In Seoul, Mr Obama made clear that he was committed to that notion, saying “those who deride our vision, who say that ours is an impossible goal that will be forever out of reach” were wrong.
Though he was vague on exactly how such a vision would be achieved, he voiced confidence that the US and Russia, which reached a landmark arms-control treaty in 2010, “can continue to make progress and reduce our nuclear stockpiles”.
“I firmly believe that we can ensure the security of the United States and our allies, maintain a strong deterrent against any threat, and still pursue further reductions in our nuclear arsenal,” he said.
But another arms accord with Moscow will be a tough sell with US conservatives, who say Mr Obama has not moved fast enough to modernise the US strategic arsenal – a pledge he made in return for Republican votes that helped ratify the Start treaty.
The US and Russia are the two biggest nuclear powers, and Mr Obama said he wanted to take arms control talks with the Russians to a new level.
With US officials privately expressing concern at the opacity of China’s growing nuclear weapons programme, Mr Obama said he had urged Beijing “to join us in a dialogue on nuclear issues, and that offer remains open”.
The US president used his speech to call on North Korea, which plans a long-range rocket launch next month, to curb its nuclear ambitions or face further isolation. “And know this – there will be no more rewards for provocations. Those days are over. This is the choice before you,” he said, directing his comments at North Korea’s leadership.
Chinese president Hu Jintao indicated to Mr Obama during a one-on-one meeting yesterday that he took the North Korean nuclear stand-off very seriously, and was registering his concern with Pyongyang, a senior White House aide said.
“The two leaders agreed to co-ordinate closely in responding to this potential provocation . . . and if necessary [to] consider what steps need to be taken following a potential launch,” the aide added, without elaborating on possible consequences. – (Reuters)