(applause)

Please, thank you very much.

To President Park, faculty, staff and students,

thank you so much for this very warm welcome.

It is a great honor to be here at Hankuk University

of Foreign Studies.

(applause)

I want to thank Dr. Park for, a few moments ago,

making me an honorary alumni of the university.

(applause)

I know that this school has one of the world's finest foreign

language programs -- which means that your English is much better

than my Korean.

(laughter)

All I can say is, kamsa hamnida.

(applause)

Now, this is my third visit to the Republic

of Korea as President.

I've now been to Seoul more times than any other capital --

except for Washington, D.C., of course.

This reflects the extraordinary bonds between our two countries

and our commitment to each other.

I'm pleased that we're joined by so many leaders here today,

Koreans and Americans, who help keep us free and strong

and prosperous every day.

That includes our first Korean-American ambassador

to the Republic of Korea -- Ambassador Sung Kim.

(applause)

I've seen the deep connections between our peoples in my own

life -- among friends, colleagues.

I've seen it so many patriotic Korean Americans,

including a man born in this city of Seoul,

who came to America and has dedicated his life to lifting

up the poor and sick of the world.

And last week I was proud to nominate him to lead the World

Bank -- Dr. Jim Yong Kim.

(applause)

I've also seen the bonds in our men and women in uniform,

like the American and Korean troops I visited yesterday along

the DMZ -- Freedom's Frontier.

And we salute their service and are very grateful for them.

We honor all those who have given their lives in our

defense, including the 46 brave souls who perished aboard the

Cheonan two years ago today.

And in their memory we reaffirm the enduring promise at the core

of our alliance -- we stand together,

and the commitment of the United States to the defense and the

security of the Republic of Korea will never waver.

(applause)

Most of all, I see the strength of our alliance in all of you.

For decades, this school has produced leaders -- public

servants, diplomats, businesspeople -- who've helped

propel the modern miracle that is Korea-- transforming it from

crushing poverty to one of the world's most dynamic economies;

from authoritarianism to a thriving democracy;

from a country focused inward to a leader for security and

prosperity not only in this region but also around the

world -- a truly "Global Korea."

So to all the students here today,

this is the Korea your generation will inherit.

And I believe there's no limits to what our two nations can

achieve together.

For like your parents and grandparents before you,

you know that the future is what we make of it.

And you know that in our digital age,

we can connect and innovate across borders like never

before -- with your smart phones and Twitter and Me2Day

and Kakao Talk.

(laughter and applause)

It's no wonder so many people around the world have caught

the Korean Wave, Hallyu.

(applause)

Or consider this: In advance of my visit,

our embassy invited Koreans to send us your questions using

social media.

Some of you may have sent questions.

And they called it, "Ask President Obama."

Now, one of you -- maybe it was you,

maybe it was somebody else -- this is true -- asked this

question: "Have you posted, yourself,

a supportive opinion on a website under a disguised name,

pretending you are one of the supporters of President Obama?"

(laughter)

I hadn't thought of this.

(laughter)

But the truth is I have not done this.

Maybe my daughters have.

(laughter)

But I haven't done that myself.

So our shared future -- and the unprecedented opportunity to

meet shared challenges together -- is what brings me to Seoul.

Over the next two days, under President Lee's leadership,

we'll move ahead with the urgent work of preventing nuclear

terrorism by securing the world's nuclear materials.

This is an important part of the broader,

comprehensive agenda that I want to talk with you about today --

our vision of a world without nuclear weapons.

Three years ago, I traveled to Prague and I declared America's

commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and

to seeking a world without them.

I said I knew that this goal would not be reached quickly,

perhaps not in my lifetime, but I knew we had to begin,

with concrete steps.

And in your generation, I see the spirit we need in this

endeavor -- an optimism that beats in the hearts of so many

young people around the world.

It's that refusal to accept the world as it is,

the imagination to see the world as it ought to be,

and the courage to turn that vision into reality.

So today, with you, I want to take stock of our journey and

chart our next steps.

Here in Seoul, more than 50 nations will mark our progress

toward the goal we set at the summit I hosted two years ago

in Washington -- securing the world's vulnerable nuclear

materials in four years so that they never fall into the hands

of terrorists.

And since then, nations -- including the United States --

have boosted security at nuclear facilities.

South Korea, Japan, Pakistan and others are building new centers

to improve nuclear security and training.

Nations like Kazakhstan have moved nuclear materials to more

secure locations.

Mexico, and just yesterday Ukraine,

have joined the ranks of nations that have removed all the highly

enriched uranium from their territory.

All told, thousands of pounds of nuclear material have been

removed from vulnerable sites around the world.

This was deadly material that is now secure and can now never be

used against a city like Seoul.

We're also using every tool at our disposal to break up black

markets and nuclear material.

Countries like Georgia and Moldova have seized highly

enriched uranium from smugglers.

And countries like Jordan are building their own

counter-smuggling teams, and we're tying them together in a

global network of intelligence and law enforcement.

Nearly 20 nations have now ratified the treaties and

international partnerships that are at the center of

our efforts.

And I should add that with the death of Osama bin Laden and the

major blows that we've struck against al Qaeda,

a terrorist organization that has actively sought nuclear

weapons is now on the path to defeat.

So in short, the international community has made it harder

than ever for terrorists to acquire nuclear weapons,

and that has made us all safer.

We're building an international architecture that can ensure

nuclear safety.

But we're under no illusions.

We know that nuclear material, enough for many weapons,

is still being stored without adequate protection.

And we know that terrorists and criminal gangs are still trying

to get their hands on it -- as well as radioactive material for

a dirty bomb.

We know that just the smallest amount of plutonium -- about the

size of an apple -- could kill hundreds of thousands and spark

a global crisis.

The danger of nuclear terrorism remains one of the greatest

threats to global security.

And that's why here in Seoul, we need to keep at it.

And I believe we will.

We're expecting dozens of nations to announce over the

next several days that they've fulfilled the promises they made

two years ago.

And we're now expecting more commitments -- tangible,

concrete action -- to secure nuclear materials and,

in some cases, remove them completely.

This is the serious, sustained global effort that we need,

and it's an example of more nations bearing the

responsibility and the costs of meeting global challenges.

This is how the international community should work in the

21st century.

And Korea is one of the key leaders in this process.

The United States will continue to do our part -- securing our

own material and helping others protect theirs.

We're moving forward with Russia to eliminate enough plutonium

for about 17,000 nuclear weapons and turn it instead

into electricity.

I can announce today a new agreement by the United States

and several European partners toward sustaining the supply of

medical isotopes that are used to treat cancer and heart

disease without the use of highly enriched uranium.

And we will work with industry and hospitals and research

centers in the United States and around the world,

to recover thousands of unneeded radiological materials so that

they can never do us harm.

Now, American leadership has been essential to progress in

a second area -- taking concrete steps towards a world without

nuclear weapons.

As a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,

this is our obligation, and it's one that I take very seriously.

But I believe the United States has a unique responsibility to

act -- indeed, we have a moral obligation.

I say this as President of the only nation ever

to use nuclear weapons.

I say it as a Commander-in-Chief who knows that our nuclear codes

are never far from my side.

Most of all, I say it as a father,

who wants my two young daughters to grow up in a world where

everything they know and love can't be instantly wiped out.

Over the past three years, we've made important progress.

With Russia, we're now reducing our arsenal under the New START

Treaty -- the most comprehensive arms control agreement in nearly

20 years.

And when we're done, we will have cut American and Russian

deployed nuclear warheads to their lowest levels

since the 1950s.

As President, I changed our nuclear posture to reduce the

number and role of nuclear weapons in our national

security strategy.

I made it clear that the United States will not develop new

nuclear warheads.

And we will not pursue new military missions

for nuclear weapons.

We've narrowed the range of contingencies under which we

would ever use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.

At the same time, I've made it clear that so long as nuclear

weapons exist, we'll work with our Congress to maintain a safe,

secure and effective arsenal that guarantees the defense not

only of the United States but also our allies -- including

South Korea and Japan.

My administration's nuclear posture recognizes that the

massive nuclear arsenal we inherited from the Cold War

is poorly suited to today's threats,

including nuclear terrorism.

So last summer, I directed my national security team to

conduct a comprehensive study of our nuclear forces.

That study is still underway.

But even as we have more work to do,

we can already say with confidence that we have more

nuclear weapons than we need.

Even after New START, the United States will still have more than

1,500 deployed nuclear weapons, and some 5,000 warheads.

I firmly believe that we can ensure the security of the

United States and our allies, maintain a strong deterrent

against any threat, and still pursue further reductions in

our nuclear arsenal.

Going forward, we'll continue to seek discussions with Russia on

a step we have never taken before -- reducing not only

our strategic nuclear warheads, but also tactical weapons and

warheads in reserve.

I look forward to discussing this agenda with President