Heads of state met in South Korea on Monday for the launch of what was supposed to be a nuclear security summit focused on preventing terrorism and securing nuclear material. So far, however, North Korea's threat to launch a rocket has been the primary focus.

Leaders and officials from 53 countries, plus Interpol and three other international organizations, officially began the event with a working dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Delegates at the two-day summit in Seoul criticized North Korea's announcement 10 days ago about its plans to blast a satellite into space aboard a long-range rocket - a move perceived by many as a cover for nuclear missile development.

US President Barack Obama urged North Korean leaders to abandon their rocket plan or risk jeopardizing their country's future and thwarting a recent US pledge of food aid in return for nuclear and missile test moratoriums.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's government, meanwhile, has warned that it might shoot down parts of the rocket if it violates South Korean airspace.

Both the US and South Korean leaders have been pressing China to use its influence to persuade its North Korean ally to halt the launch.

North 'steals' spotlight

But a Chinese government-backed disarmament expert said he believed that North Korea had achieved exactly what it wanted with its threatened launch dominating summit discussion.

"I think North Korea did this to overshadow our talks about nuclear security," said China Arms Control and Disarmament Association head Li Hong. "We shouldn't fall for their trick," he added.

North Korea has threatened to launch the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite into orbit on an Unha-3 rocket in April. The launch is scheduled to mark the 100th birthday of the isolated, highly militarized communist state's deceased founder, Kim Il-Sung.

World leaders are hoping to use the summit to assess developments since Obama hosted the first such summit on nuclear terrorism in Washington in 2010. Summit organizers hailed "substantial progress" since then, "based on a shared understanding of the danger of the threat of nuclear terrorism."

Since the Washington summit, Obama said in a speech in Seoul earlier Monday, "thousands of pounds of nuclear material have been removed from sites around the world - deadly material that is now secure."

tm/rc (AFP, AP)