Washington (CNN)President
Barack Obama said Donald Trump's suggestion that Japan and South Korea
should consider obtaining nuclear weapons demonstrates the Republican
presidential front-runner's lack of understanding about foreign policy
and the world at large.
"The
person who made the statements doesn't know much about foreign policy or
nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally," Obama
said at a news conference at the close of the Nuclear Security Summit.
Obama
described the U.S. nuclear umbrella for Japan and South Korea, in place
of their own arsenals, as "one of the cornerstones of our presence in
the Asia Pacific," which has provided the U.S. peace, prosperity and
flowing commerce.
"It has
prevented the possibilities of a nuclear escalation and conflict," he
added. "You don't mess with that. It's an investment that rests on the
sacrifices that our men and women made" in World War II.
He concluded, "We don't want someone in the Oval Office who doesn't recognize how important that is."
The
summit came as the Republican front-runner to replace Obama in the
White House made several controversial nuclear proposals this week.
Trump
said that nuclear proliferation is the world's biggest challenge, but
also suggested at a CNN town hall on Tuesday that it may be time for
Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear arsenals so the U.S.
can pull back from Asia.
Japanese
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida squelched the idea of his country
developing its own nuclear weapons, saying, "It is impossible that Japan
will arm itself with nuclear weapons."
The
island nation is the only country to experience a nuclear attack, when
the U.S. ended World War II by dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and has been committed to a non-nuclear defense posture since then.
Trump
has also suggested redrawing U.S. security relationships in other
regions, arguing that Germany and Saudi Arabia need to do more in their
own defense or pay the U.S. more for the protection it offers.
And he's proposed using nuclear weapons to put a swift and definitive end to the threat of ISIS.
"I would never take any of my cards off the table," Trump told MSNBC.
The
summit, the final of four Obama has held during his presidency, drew
leaders from around the world to discuss ways to prevent the use of
nuclear weapons and better secure nuclear materials, especially from the
threat of nuclear terrorism.
Obama
said global efforts to improve nuclear security have removed from
circulation material that is equivalent to 150 nuclear weapons,
safeguarding it from extremists.
"That's material that will never fall into the hands of terrorists," Obama said.
Non-proliferation
efforts mean the entire continent of South America is free of nuclear
materials. If Poland and Indonesia meet commitments this year, Central
Europe and Southeast Asia will follow suit, he said.
"As
terrorists and criminal gangs and arms merchants look around for deadly
ingredients for a nuclear device, vast regions of the world are now
off-limits, and that's a remarkable achievement," he said, admitting
that much work remains.
Obama
said that while leader-level summits are ending, the delegates have
agreed to create a new nuclear security contact group of more than 30
countries to institutionalize their work and build on their
achievements.
Obama said he realized that "our vision will not happen quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime, but we have begun."
He noted that nuclear stockpiles are the lowest they've been in six decades. "I'm extremely proud of our record," he said.
The
summit focused particular attention to ISIS, devoting a special session
to the group, which has demonstrated an interest in nuclear materials,
Obama said. After the Paris attacks in November, investigators found
hours of footage tracking the movements of a Belgian nuclear official.
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