The South Korean government said it has agreed with Vietnam and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider undertaking a pilot project to build a system in Vietnam for tracking radioactive sources.

The agreement came on the sidelines of the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit, aimed at enhancing nuclear security by minimizing global stocks of nuclear materials and preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists.

“The Radiation Source Location Tracking system has been developed and used by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety for tracking 1,400 radioactive sources. It allows real-time tracking of radioactive sources based on GPS satellite signals and mobile telecommunication networks,” the summit’s preparatory secretariat said in a statement.

Under the pilot project, Korea will provide and install the system in Vietnam with assistance from the IAEA.

The results and lessons learned will be made available to other countries interested in the system to help enhance national and global nuclear security, particularly on the physical protection and transport security of radioactive materials, the secretariat said.

Wrapping up the Seoul summit, leaders urged the participating countries to secure radioactive sources in the use of industrial, medical, agricultural and research applications.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)