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President Obama chaired a meeting of the U.N. Security Council today, which approved a resolution aimed at stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The World’s Katy Clark reports.

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MARCO WERMAN: The weapons of mass destruction mentioned in the New York indictment today are not nuclear weapons.  But the possibility that terrorists could get their hands on nukes has long concerned world leaders.  President Obama mentioned that scenario today — as he chaired a United Nations Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament.  The council passed a resolution aimed at stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons.  The World’s Katy Clark has more on that.

KATY CLARK: For those who believe the only way to keep the world truly safe is to get rid of nuclear weapons, Today’s UN resolution is encouraging.  It calls for stepped up efforts towards preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, increasing disarmament, and reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism.  President Obama described it as a “historic resolution,” and one that enshrines the commitment of member states to work towards the shared goal of a world without nuclear weapons.  That’s a goal Mr. Obama views as crucial to national and international security.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Just one nuclear weapon exploding in a city, be it New York, or Moscow, Tokyo or Beijing, London or Paris, could kill hundreds of thousands of people.  And it would badly destabilize our security, our economies, and our very way of life.

CLARK: President Obama went on to say that the next two months will be critical for non-proliferation efforts.  For one thing, the US and Russia are seeking to renegotiate their 1991 treaty on strategic arms reduction before it expires in early December.  Today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed his willingness to continue working with the United States and others.  Here’s part of his statement as translated at the UN.

PRESIDENT DMITRY MEDVEDEV: [Via Translator] Today’s meeting is ushering in a time of large-scale and serious work.  Work that I’m convinced will dramatically improve the situation in the world.

CLARK: The resolution passed today expresses particular concern for the fact that some countries continue to flout enforcement treaties.  Among them, North Korea, which has tested nuclear weapons, and Iran, which the west believes is seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program.  President Obama said today’s resolution wasn’t about singling out any one nation.  But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, heard here speaking through a translator, seemed to think it should.

PRESIDENT SARKOZY: [Via Translator] We are saying yes, reductions.  And President Obama himself has said, “I dream of a world where there would be no such weapons.”  And yet right in front of us, two countries are doing exactly the opposite.  Right now

CLARK: Sarkozy said that if the Security Council wants to be taken seriously about its pledge to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons, it has to be willing to impose sanctions on those who violate Security Council resolutions.  China, for one, has been reluctant to take a tougher stand toward Iran.  None of the leaders speaking today seemed to think nuclear disarmament is going to happen overnight.  And it’s hard to imagine complete disarmament even being possible.  But George Perkovich, a non-proliferation expert with The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says it’s worth a shot.

GEORGE PERKOVICH: No one can force the US, or Russia, or anybody else to give up their nuclear weapons.  It’s only going to happen if each of the states that now has these weapons decides it’s in their interest, it’s safe, secure, to get rid of the last ones.

CLARK: Perkovich says if leaders succeed in simply getting close to destroying all nuclear weapons, they would have made the world a much better place.  For The World, this is Katy Clark.

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