Stepping up its efforts to prevent nuclear and radiological terrorism, the United Nations atomic watchdog agency says that as of today close to 60 new potentially illicit trafficking incidents have been reported just since the beginning of the year.

Seeking to ensure the safe and economic use of nuclear science and technology, the United Nations atomic agency has brought together more than 200 experts, scientists and officials from over 40 countries this week to tackle such issues as the lag in the rise of a new generation to replace the current ageing nuclear workforce.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency is in contact with Japanese authorities over an accident in the steam generator turbine circuit of the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant some 320 kilometres west of Tokyo.

Declaring that nuclear proliferation is now “a different ball game” in which “either we all will win or everybody would lose," the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog agency has called for international cooperation to devise new rules to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction.