Washington: President Barack Obama said Friday he would like to further cut the US nuclear arsenal, admitting he has concerns about efforts to modernize America’s most deadly weapons.

‘My preference would be to bring down further our nuclear arsenal,’ he told reporters at the end of a Nuclear Security Summit he hosted in Washington.

Obama, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in his first year in office for his commitment to non-proliferation, was responding to a question about updates to the US arsenal.

He was asked if there was a risk that US rivals like Russia and China would feel compelled to expand their stockpiles if America improves the lethality of its own.

‘I think it’s a legitimate question, and I am concerned,’ Obama said.

‘Here’s the balance that we’ve had to strike. We have a nuclear stockpile that we have to make sure is safe and make sure is reliable.’

Obama said the modernisation was designed to make America’s missiles more safe, and that he hoped to be able to work with powers like Russia to reduce global warhead stocks.