Nations endorse Obama's call for nuclear security

WASHINGTON - In full accord on a global threat, world leaders endorsed President Barack Obama's call for securing all nuclear materials from terrorists within four years at a 47-nation summit Tuesday. They offered few specifics for achieving that goal, but Obama declared "the American people will be safer and the world will be more secure" as a result.

Obama had called the summit to focus world attention on keeping dangerous materials out of terrorist hands, a peril he termed the greatest threat facing all nations.

"Terrorist networks such as al-Qaida have tried to acquire the material for a nuclear weapon, and if they ever succeeded, they would surely use it," he told the opening session, which convened under tight security at the Washington Convention Center.

The summit countries said they would cooperate more deeply with the United Nations and its watchdog arm, the International Atomic Energy Agency. They also said they would share information on nuclear detection and ways to prevent nuclear trafficking.

While the summit focused on the threat from terrorists, there also was focus on Iran, North Korea and other nations that are seeking or have succeeded in obtaining or developing nuclear weapons.

In a news conference at the conference conclusion, Obama said he was confident China would join other nations in pressing for tough new sanctions on Iran for continuing to defy the international community in seeking such weapons.

Iran, which was not invited to the conference, denies it intends to build an atomic bomb.

The summiteers announced that a follow-up nuclear security conference will be held in South Korea in 2012.