The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit officially kicked off on Monday in Seoul, where leaders and representatives from more than 50 countries and international organizations gathered to discuss actions to secure vulnerable nuclear materials.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) meets with Lee Myung-bak, president of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Seoul, capital of the ROK, March 26, 2012. The two leaders are meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit slated for Monday and Tuesday in Seoul. [Xinhua]

The summit, held under the slogan of "beyond security, towards peace", is a follow-up to the inaugural Washington summit in 2010 where U.S. President Barak Obama set the goal of securing the world's nuclear materials by 2014.

During the working dinner, the world leaders reviewed the achievements made for the past two years since they made individual commitments at the 2010 summit.

Earlier on Monday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan expressed his hope that the forum would help participating countries take concrete action to protect vulnerable nuclear materials from falling into the wrong hands.

The leaders will discuss the topics of national measures and international cooperation to enhance nuclear security, as well as future commitments, during the morning session on March 27.

The Seoul communique, to be adopted on Tuesday, is expected to reaffirm the international commitments to minimizing the use of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium and expand discussions on nuclear safety in the context of nuclear security following the nuclear crisis in Japan.