With anxieties over the nuclear activities of North Korea and Iran looming large, heads of state from 53 countries convened in Seoul this week to reaffirm and intensify their commitment to prevent nuclear materials from getting into the hands of terrorists.

The second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul in March 2012 provides an opportunity for China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea to develop concrete cooperation on nuclear security.

In the absence of clear indications of the direction Kim Jung Un intends to take, firm resistance to provocations will be a steadying influence.

The cumulative impact of the nuclear developments that occurred in 2012, from the disaster in Fukushima to Iran's continuing nuclear program, will make the world's nuclear future more uncertain.

The death of North Korean dictator Kim Jung Il increases the likelihood that the stress on the multiple fault lines in Korean society will reach the point of breaking. Secret talks with China to plan for contingencies may be needed now more than ever.

Differing views between Russia and NATO on issues such as missile defense and Georgian membership in NATO should not inhibit cooperation on steps toward further nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.