Former global leaders to advise Lee ahead of nuclear summit

A group of former leaders and ministers from around the world will advise South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on nuclear security issues in the run-up to a global summit on the same theme to be hosted by Seoul next year, the foreign ministry here said Monday. The "Eminent Persons Group" comprises 15 experts on international security and nuclear issues, including Hans Blix, a former Swedish foreign minister and former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency; former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; and former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the ministry said in a press release. The group will be tasked with providing background and policy advice in light of the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul on March 26 and 27. The gathering of some 50 world leaders, chaired by Lee, will seek to prevent terrorists and other non-state actors from getting hold of potentially harmful nuclear material, such as highly enriched uranium, plutonium and radioactive material. The advisors are also expected to use their expertise to actively promote the importance of nuclear security issues and the summit through lectures and interviews with the media, Hahn Choong-hee, spokesman for the summit's preparatory secretariat, told reporters.