Thursday, March 22, 2012

VOA News: Asia: North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US

VOA News: Asia
Asia Voice of America
North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:12

A new wave of "orchestral diplomacy" may prove to be the key to soothing tensions between the United States and North Korea.

At least that is the hope of an American group working to organize a U.S. tour by North Korea's National Symphony Orchestra.

Washington-area concert promoters Classical Movements said Thursday the U.S. State Department granted visas for the tour last year, but the visit was put on hold after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The group says the trip will go ahead this year if new visas are granted.

With nuclear programs and missile tests complicating any efforts at improved relations between North Korea and the West, repeated efforts have been made to build ties through the nation's fondness for orchestral music.

Just last week, North Korea's Unhasu Orchestra joined Radio France Philharmonic on stage in France under the direction of South Korean director Chung Myung-Whun.

"We would like to play something for you, a folk tune that is much older than the political division - it's called 'Arirang'. There isn't a single Korean on both sides that wouldn't know this song," said Chung.

Chung explained that the folk tune, Arirang, is beloved by all Koreans, suggesting the song is more powerful than the politics dividing the nations.

It was not Chung's first attempt to use music to build bridges between North and South Korea.

In September, the maestro traveled to North Korea where, the North's official media reported, he watched and conducted two orchestras, including the State Symphony Orchestra.

In a statement Thursday, Classical Movements said it believes the common language of music has the ability to bring people of diverse cultures together.

The organizers credited hopes for the tour to the work of the non-profit organization Global Resource Services, which was founded in the United States in response to North Korean natural disasters a decade ago and continues to support humanitarian efforts in Asia.

But international politics could still spoil the tour. Hopes for a rapprochement between the United States and North Korea - which rose after a breakthrough agreement for the North to freeze its nuclear programs - have soured again with Pyongyang's announcement that it plans to fire a satellite into space on a ballistic missile.

Classical Movements said the U.S. tour will move forward only with the approval of the U.S. State Department.

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VOA News: Asia: Cambodian Opposition Leader Blasts Tribunal Interference

VOA News: Asia
Asia Voice of America
Cambodian Opposition Leader Blasts Tribunal Interference
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:46

Cambodia's opposition leader in exile is criticizing the country's government, accusing it of blatantly interfering with attempts to prosecute crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge.

Sam Rainsy told VOA's Khmer service Thursday that officials in the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen "fear a serious investigation."  

"Any serious and in-depth investigation would show that several members of the current government were involved in the Khmer Rouge crimes," said Sam Rainsy. "It is why several members of the current government have refused to testify to respond to summons."

Khmer Rouge tribunal judge Laurent Kasper-Ansermet quit in protest earlier this week, citing repeated challenges to his authority by his Cambodian counterpart on the tribunal.  Kasper-Ansermet's predecessor, Swiss Judge Siegfried Blunt, quit the tribunal earlier this year after complaining of similar interference from You Bunleng.

Sam Rainsy said unless such interference ends, the tribunal's legacy will be one of continued violence.

"If all the people who are, who were responsible for the death of millions of people are not duly prosecuted, then subsequent leaders will feel free to kill other people like the current government is doing," he said.

The tribunal has already sentenced one former Khmer Rouge official to life in prison, and is currently hearing a second case against the group's three top surviving leaders.  The trio face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians who died under Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge member, has repeatedly said there should be no further prosecutions.  He and other Cambodian officials have voiced fear that further cases could spark civil war in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is in the United States meeting with officials from both the U.S. and United Nations.

He says many U.S. and U.N. officials compare Cambodia and Burma, but that unlike Burma, Cambodia is going in the wrong direction.

"The leader of the opposition is not allowed to go back to Cambodia, is not allowed to take part in any election because of a politically subservient court that has sentenced the opposition leader, preventing him to go back and preventing him from running," said Rainsy.

Sam Rainsy called on the U.S. and the U.N. to push for free and fair elections in Cambodia, saying corruption and incompetence are eroding the standard of living for many Cambodians.

Last year, a Cambodian court sentenced Sam Rainsy in absentia to two years in prison on charges of defaming Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Sam Rainsy, who is living in exile in France, already faced 12 years in prison on two previous convictions which his supporters charge are politically motivated.

Sam Rainsy supporters charge the cases were brought to prevent him from leading his party into elections expected in 2013.

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VOA News: Asia: US, Afghanistan in Final Discussions on Night-Time Operations

VOA News: Asia
Asia Voice of America
US, Afghanistan in Final Discussions on Night-Time Operations
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:49

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai has told VOA that Kabul and Washington are in "final discussions" on an agreement to end U.S. military night-time raids in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai continually has called for an end to such operations, which he says result in civilian casualties and are an invasion of privacy.  U.S. officials insist night raids are crucial in targeting the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Mosazai said he hopes the agreement would be signed "in the near future," opening the way to finalizing the terms of a pact that would define the U.S. presence in Afghanistan once all foreign combat troops leave the country by 2014.

The two countries are pushing to sign the long-term strategic partnership before or by the NATO summit to be held in Chicago, Illinois, in May.

Mosazai was on a two-day visit to Washington with Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul, who held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the strategic deal.

The talks came in the wake of the killing of 16 Afghan civilians in Kandahar, allegedly by a U.S. soldier during a March 11 shooting spree.

On the issue of peace with the Taliban, Mosazai tells VOA the Afghan government is at the "confidence-building stage" for talks with the insurgent group.

He said the Taliban needs to make a "clear statement" that they support the country's political process, a peace process and final negotiations between Afghans for peace.  

The Taliban has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the Karzai government, calling it a "puppet regime."

Mosazai added that the government of Afghanistan has agreed to the potential transfer of consenting Guantanamo detainees to Qatar, but that it is now up the the U.S. government to decide how to move forward.

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VOA News: Arts and Entertainment: North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US

VOA News: Arts and Entertainment
Arts and Entertainment Voice of America
North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:12

A new wave of "orchestral diplomacy" may prove to be the key to soothing tensions between the United States and North Korea.

At least that is the hope of an American group working to organize a U.S. tour by North Korea's National Symphony Orchestra.

Washington-area concert promoters Classical Movements said Thursday the U.S. State Department granted visas for the tour last year, but the visit was put on hold after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The group says the trip will go ahead this year if new visas are granted.

With nuclear programs and missile tests complicating any efforts at improved relations between North Korea and the West, repeated efforts have been made to build ties through the nation's fondness for orchestral music.

Just last week, North Korea's Unhasu Orchestra joined Radio France Philharmonic on stage in France under the direction of South Korean director Chung Myung-Whun.

"We would like to play something for you, a folk tune that is much older than the political division - it's called 'Arirang'. There isn't a single Korean on both sides that wouldn't know this song," said Chung.

Chung explained that the folk tune, Arirang, is beloved by all Koreans, suggesting the song is more powerful than the politics dividing the nations.

It was not Chung's first attempt to use music to build bridges between North and South Korea.

In September, the maestro traveled to North Korea where, the North's official media reported, he watched and conducted two orchestras, including the State Symphony Orchestra.

In a statement Thursday, Classical Movements said it believes the common language of music has the ability to bring people of diverse cultures together.

The organizers credited hopes for the tour to the work of the non-profit organization Global Resource Services, which was founded in the United States in response to North Korean natural disasters a decade ago and continues to support humanitarian efforts in Asia.

But international politics could still spoil the tour. Hopes for a rapprochement between the United States and North Korea - which rose after a breakthrough agreement for the North to freeze its nuclear programs - have soured again with Pyongyang's announcement that it plans to fire a satellite into space on a ballistic missile.

Classical Movements said the U.S. tour will move forward only with the approval of the U.S. State Department.

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VOA News: Africa: Opposing Approaches Will Determine Senegal's Second-Round Vote

VOA News: Africa
Africa Voice of America
Opposing Approaches Will Determine Senegal's Second-Round Vote
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:35

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After failing to win outright in the first round of Senegal's election, President Abdoulaye Wade faces Macky Sall in Sunday's second-round vote. The two candidates have spent the intervening month campaigning, with very different strategies.

Since winning the right to face the incumbent in the second round, Macky Sall has held large rallies throughout the country in a populist appeal for votes.

"Young people, carpenters, mechanics, merchants and brokers, you deserve a response to your request for jobs. All that remains is victory, which we will achieve," said Sall.

Wade seeks religious vote

President Wade has held smaller rallies in many of the same places. But he has preferred to hold court with influential leaders - especially in the religious community.

"If we work well, together with your prayers, the second round will go well, I will win, and it will be better than if I had won in the first round," said Wade.

At one such meeting in Kaolack, hundreds lined up to meet with the president, some say in order to get something in return for their support.

"Did you see the bag full of money before? It's because he's losing, and when we're losing, we hide behind the religious leaders who give the word to their disciples to vote a certain way," said Kaolack resident Cheikh Kane.

Whatever his methods, the president has won the support of some of the country's Muslim spiritual leaders. Cheikh Béthio Thioune ordered his disciples to vote for the president and held the largest march Dakar has seen throughout the election period.

"You see that everyone has come out for the march to re-elect the president of the republic, Abdoulaye Wade. I believe that he has already been re-elected by us, the disciples of Cheikh Béthio Thioune," said Abdou Ndiaye, a Thioune disciple.

Sall gathers political forces

Macky Sall has not ignored the religious community, but the strength of his coalition is political. The 12 other first-round opposition candidates unanimously support him, and the thinking is that their constituencies also will follow.

"In the first round, I voted for Tanor Dieng of the Socialist Party. But in the second round, I'm with Tanor and everyone else who has moved to Macky because we are tired. The entire country has had enough," said Cheikh Ka, a Macky Sall convert.

Even the protest movement Y'en A Marre - meaning "we've had enough" - has broken its year-long refusal to endorse a candidate and has urged people to vote for Sall. But Sall is a former prime minister under Wade, and like many Senegalese, founding member Omar Touré feels this does not represent much of a change.

"We are not supporting the Macky the person, we are supporting the will of the people, which is to oust Wade," said Touré.

Sall enjoys more enthusiastic support from Grammy winner and would-be presidential candidate Youssou N'Dour, as well as the M23 opposition movement, which has ceased the protests against Wade's candidacy it carried out before the first round.

The movement still objects to the president's effort to seek a third term - despite a constitutional limit of two. Most of the protesters now, though, prefer to remove him by the ballot. Wade has no intention of being removed, however, and analysts are expecting a close race.

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VOA News: Africa: After Coup, Mali Tuaregs Fear Discrimination

VOA News: Africa
Africa Voice of America
After Coup, Mali Tuaregs Fear Discrimination
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:14

In Mali's capital, Bamako, people from Tuareg and Arab ethnic groups say the soldiers who seized power vowing to lead a more robust response to the Tuareg rebellion must work to avoid renewed discrimination against civilians from these communities.  

Even if Malians were frustrated over what many saw as poor handling of the Tuareg rebellion by the government of President Amadou Toumani Touré, people commended the government's efforts to spread the message not to equate Tuareg civilians or other light-skinned groups with the rebels.

Protecting rights

Now some Tuareg and Arabs in the capital, Bamako, question whether the soldiers looking to seize power will make it a priority to ensure the rights and protection of these populations.

Even though many Tuareg - one of Mali's numerous ethnic groups - are in the Malian army and on the front lines against the rebels - there have been reprisal attacks against Tuareg civilians since the latest rebel uprising in January.  But that calmed considerably after a broad campaign against such prejudice, led by government and civil society groups.

One man, a Tuareg living in Bamako, did not want to give his name for his own security.  Since the military uprising started on Wednesday, he says he has heard troubling reports.

"Throughout the day on Wednesday," he said, "we heard rumors that the soldiers who rose up against the government blame some Tuareg officials in the army for defeats the army has suffered in the north, and that the military no longer wants to work alongside them."  He added, "If it turns out this sentiment is real, this would be a huge worry for Tuareg civilians.  We would feel quite threatened."

A resident of the capital says he wants some reassurance right away from the new authorities.

"We want the new authorities to take into account these concerns on the part of the Tuareg community," he said. He says they must call on the population to prevent any repeat of tensions that arose in February, when Tuareg goods and businesses in and around Bamako were attacked.

One Arab in Bamako who is from northern Mali told VOA, "Light-skinned people are pretty scared right now," he said.  He did not want to speak further by telephone, or have his voice recorded.  

Waiting for clues

Sidi Ali Ould Bagna is president of the Association of Youth from the Sahel.  He told VOA it is too soon to reach conclusions about the coup, and that it will be important to watch the initial moves and pronouncements of the new military leaders.

"We have to wait and see what the new authorities' vision and true motives are," he said.  What is sure, he adds, is that "they absolutely must work to ensure that inter-community tensions don't emerge again."

A university student from the northeastern Gao region pointed out that many Tuareg who fled Bamako in February have not yet returned.

Before midday Thursday gunfire could still be heard throughout Bamako, prompting speculation by some residents that there might be an effort to launch a counter-coup by soldiers loyal to President Touré.  In this situation of uncertainty, people from the Tuareg community have particular concerns.

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VOA News: USA: North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US

VOA News: USA
USA Voice of America
North Korean 'Orchestral Diplomacy' Could Reach US
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:12

A new wave of "orchestral diplomacy" may prove to be the key to soothing tensions between the United States and North Korea.

At least that is the hope of an American group working to organize a U.S. tour by North Korea's National Symphony Orchestra.

Washington-area concert promoters Classical Movements said Thursday the U.S. State Department granted visas for the tour last year, but the visit was put on hold after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The group says the trip will go ahead this year if new visas are granted.

With nuclear programs and missile tests complicating any efforts at improved relations between North Korea and the West, repeated efforts have been made to build ties through the nation's fondness for orchestral music.

Just last week, North Korea's Unhasu Orchestra joined Radio France Philharmonic on stage in France under the direction of South Korean director Chung Myung-Whun.

"We would like to play something for you, a folk tune that is much older than the political division - it's called 'Arirang'. There isn't a single Korean on both sides that wouldn't know this song," said Chung.

Chung explained that the folk tune, Arirang, is beloved by all Koreans, suggesting the song is more powerful than the politics dividing the nations.

It was not Chung's first attempt to use music to build bridges between North and South Korea.

In September, the maestro traveled to North Korea where, the North's official media reported, he watched and conducted two orchestras, including the State Symphony Orchestra.

In a statement Thursday, Classical Movements said it believes the common language of music has the ability to bring people of diverse cultures together.

The organizers credited hopes for the tour to the work of the non-profit organization Global Resource Services, which was founded in the United States in response to North Korean natural disasters a decade ago and continues to support humanitarian efforts in Asia.

But international politics could still spoil the tour. Hopes for a rapprochement between the United States and North Korea - which rose after a breakthrough agreement for the North to freeze its nuclear programs - have soured again with Pyongyang's announcement that it plans to fire a satellite into space on a ballistic missile.

Classical Movements said the U.S. tour will move forward only with the approval of the U.S. State Department.

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VOA News: USA: Killing of Unarmed Black Teenager in Florida Sparks Racial Tensions

VOA News: USA
USA Voice of America
Killing of Unarmed Black Teenager in Florida Sparks Racial Tensions
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:11

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating possible hate crime charges in connection to a fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white neighborhood watch leader in the southern U.S. State of Florida last month. Police have not arrested the shooter or charged him with a crime. A state grand jury will meet April 10 to consider all of the evidence. Meantime, tensions are running high in Sanford,Florida, the community where national attention has focused the spotlight on issues of racism and self defense. VOA's Chris Simkins has more on the story.

The volunteer, George Zimmerman spotted Trayvon Martin as he walked to his father's home on a rainy night in the gated community. Zimmerman called police emergency, which recorded the conversation:

Zimmerman: "This guy looks like he is up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. These (unintelligible) always get away.
Dispatcher: "Are you following him ?"
Zimmerman: "Yes."
Dispatcher: "OK, we don't need you to do that."

But Zimmerman apparently followed Martin anyway. A short time later neighbors heard screams -- then gunfire.

Zimmerman says he shot Trayvon Martin in self defense after being attacked. Police have not charged him with a crime because of a Florida law known as "Stand Your Ground.'' It gives people the right to protect themselves with deadly force, even outside of their homes. Martin's parents reject the self defense claim. They say their son was targeted because he was black.

"If he had been white, he would not have been stopped. He would have not been approached at all," said Tracy Martin, the victim's father.

Zimmerman's family says he is not a racist. But many African Americans say the case is about stereotypes of young black men as violent criminals.

"How can you justify that shooting?," asked one man.

The Sanford, Florida, Police Department is under fire for its investigation. .

"If there were mistakes made we are going to handle that. We are going to act accordingly," said the city's mayor, Jeff Triplett

Authorities admit they overlooked evidence of what some believe was a racial slur that Zimmerman allegedly made before shooting Martin. "One certainly may argue that the statement coupled with the other evidence may cause the state attorney's office to start looking at a hate crime," said legal analyst Bill Schaefer.

Officers also failed to interview Martin's girlfriend. Phone records show she spoke to him moments before his death. She says he told her he was trying to get away from someone.

"This claim that Trayvon Martin was the aggressor is preposterous, and it cannot be allowed to stand because we have all of the evidence now," said Martin family attorney Ben Crump.

Tensions in the small community are on the rise as civil rights leaders hold protest marches. Social media also are attracting national attention to the case. More than a million people have signed an on-line petition demanding Zimmerman's arrest.

"I don't understand why this man ((Zimmerman)) hasn't been arrested. At least charge him and let a judge and jury decide if he is guilty," said Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother.

That won't bring her son back. But as federal and state authorities investigate the killing of Trayvon Martin, some lawmakers are questioning the law that allows people to defend themselves with deadly force.

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VOA News: USA: US Supreme Court to Make Historic Heath-Care Decision

VOA News: USA
USA Voice of America
US Supreme Court to Make Historic Heath-Care Decision
Mar 22nd 2012, 21:31

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On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that will have a lasting effect on American laws and virtually every American's access to health care.  For three days, the justices will hear arguments regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act - a medical insurance overhaul that the U.S. Congress passed two years ago.

Three families explain what's at stake for them.    

Just like he did four years ago, Miles Fawcett is there to catch his daughter when she needs him.  

Serena was born with a severe liver defect.  Her dad donated part of his liver to save his little girl's life. Now both have what's called a pre-exisiting condition.

Key aspects and programs of the Affordable Care Act:

  • Adult children can remain on their parent's insurance coverage through the age of 26.
  • An end to lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits available to people with serious medical conditions.
  • Preventive healthcare benefits including free coverage for mammograms and birth control.
  • Medicare beneficiaries get a 50% discount on covered brand name drugs and 14% savings on generic drugs.
  • Insurance companies must justify unreasonably large healthcare premium increases.
  • Business with more than 200 employees must enroll their employees in health insurance programs or pay a penalty.
  • Businesses with 50 to 200 employees who work 30 hours or more a week must offer insurance or money to workers who want to get insurance elsewhere.
  • Businesses with less than 50 employees are exempt from coverage provisions.

The Affordable Health Care law says no insurance company can deny coverage based on that.  Serena's mother, Mira, worries what might happen if the Supreme Court rules the law unconstitutional.

"It's difficult for me to think about somebody who's gone through something through no fault of their own, who's had to go through so much, to have the bottom drop out like that," she said.

Steve Fleishman runs a bagel business and does not offer health care to every employee. He would see no change if he stays under 50 employees.  But, if he hires more, Fleishman would have to offer affordable coverage to his regular workers or pay a penalty.

He says - in this economy - there's not much profit left over when he wraps up the day, so, he'd have to raise prices and cut staff.

"I'd want to fall into the category of somewhere between 40 and 49 employees, so somewhere along the line we'd have to trim down and work a little harder to not be in that category so we wouldn't have to pay for health benefits," said Fleishman.

Dianna Buckett is studying for an advanced degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University.  The new law allows her to remain under her parents' health insurance until age 26, even after graduation.

"There's not a lot out there that's a full-time position without prior job experience," said Buckett. "A lot of what I'm looking into is internships and, even if they are paid, the biggest thing is you don't get benefits."

"On every scale this is a monumental case," said attorney Tom Goldstein.

Goldstein has a stash of quill pens - one to mark each case he's argued before the Supreme Court. The real debate here is if Congress has the authority to mandate health insurance for all Americans.

"It involves the signature accomplishment of the president and it involves a question which affects the healthcare, which is absolutely basic to a hundred million people at least," he said.

With that in mind, the justices have scheduled six hours of arguments over three days.  That's the longest given any case since the 1960s.  And for good reason - analysts say their decision will be cited in American courts for the next 250 years.

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VOA News: Asia: Obama to Pursue Nuclear Safety, Security, Nonproliferation at Summit

VOA News: Asia
Asia Voice of America
Obama to Pursue Nuclear Safety, Security, Nonproliferation at Summit
Mar 22nd 2012, 20:06

President Obama is preparing for the second Nuclear Security Summit next Tuesday in Seoul. The president and other world leaders hope to better secure stocks of nuclear weapons and make nuclear energy safer.

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Keeping the world's nuclear weapons under control and out of the hands of terrorists are top goals for more than 50 leaders who will gather in the South Korean capital.

They hope to build on the commitments they made at the first Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by President Obama two years ago in Washington.

"Two decades after the end of the Cold War, we face a cruel irony of history - the risk of a nuclear confrontation between nations has gone down, but the risk of nuclear attack has gone up," he said then.

Keeping highly-enriched uranium away from terrorists is imperative, says nuclear expert Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund. He spoke recently in New York at a forum hosted by The Korea Society.

"The number-one threat to the national security of the United States is nuclear terrorism, a group getting a bomb or the material with which to build a bomb and detonating it in the United States - a "nuclear 9/11," Cirincione said.

The heavily-guarded demilitarized zone along the border with nuclear-armed North Korea is also on Obama's agenda.  He is expected to meet there with U.S. soldiers.

Pyongyang has denounced the summit as an "unpardonable crime" and an "intolerable grave provocation."

North Korea's nuclear program raises fears in the West. But it will not be one of the summit's main agenda items, says Alexandra Toma, founder of the Fissile Materials Working Group.

"There is no way you cannot not talk about North Korea, but I think that, certainly, Korean experts and the Korean government recognize that the Nuclear Security Summit is much more than that," Toma said.

The safety of nuclear power plants also will be a prominent topic of discussion in Seoul, especially after an earthquake and tsunami led to a nuclear plant meltdown last year in Japan.

At a recent discussion in Washington, Kenneth Luongo, president of the Partnership for Global Security, said the Fukushima disaster showed how much work must be done to improve nuclear power safety.

"And what Fukushima has highlighted for everybody, besides the fact that you can have a major nuclear accident in a highly developed country, is that we do not have an adequate system for dealing with radioactive dangers that cross border," Luongo said.

Before the summit itself, President Obama will meet individually with several other leaders, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

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