Poland hosts NATO summit on WMD

WARSAW, Poland, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Foreign officials descend on Poland on Thursday for a two-day summit on a weapons-of-mass-destruction policy adopted by NATO, the 28-member alliance announced.

Warsaw, Poland, hosts the annual NATO conference on WMD, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. NATO said it expects more than 100 top international officials to discuss the non-proliferation regime, disarmament and terrorism.

A separate panel is devoted exclusively to proliferation threats in the Middle East and Asia where global leaders are tackling regional challenges, particularly in Iran, Pakistan, Syria and North Korea.

NATO said the Warsaw conference is the first meeting since the alliance adopted its comprehensive policy on threats posed by WMD.

The North Atlantic Council, the highest governing body in the alliance, in September released its policy for preventing the proliferation of WMD and defending against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

Jacek Bylica, the top WMD official at NATO, said the directive "provides high-level political guidance" for tackling a growing proliferation threat.

The directive allows "enablers" to work with partners to the NATO alliance to share intelligence and share efforts at public diplomacy and strategic communication.

NATO at a 2006 summit in Latvia said WMD and their possible spread by terrorists was one of the gravest threats facing the alliance during the next decade.