Pacific Rim leaders to issue statement on North Korea nuclear issue

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Pacific Rim leaders will issue a joint statement on their worries about North Korea's nuclear weapons program, a senior U.S. official said Saturday, as officials from three countries tried to hammer out a joint strategy for upcoming negotiations with the communist country. "There is a statement. I think it's pretty well agreed," National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters. "I think we're pleased with that statement and I think it will be a good contribution to the diplomacy."

A draft of the statement expresses "strong concern" by the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum about the North's first nuclear test on Oct. 9 and its missile launches in July, saying they pose "a clear threat" to the goal of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

It urges "concrete steps" by the North in living up to commitments it made to drop its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees. It also calls for the quick resumption of six-party talks - involving the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas - that the North agreed on Oct. 31 to rejoin after a year-long boycott.

It was unclear whether the statement would be included in the leaders' final declaration or issued separately. Some countries had reportedly resisted a joint statement, either unhappy about setting a precedent by intervening in a country's internal affairs or trying to avoid the annual economic summit being overshadowed by a security issue.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said the new round of six-party talks, which could start as early as next month, will be crucial. Other officials have said the negotiations will lose credibility if they don't make real progress in getting the North to stop developing nuclear weapons.

"Right now, all parties need to be flexible and stay calm and exercise self-control and prevent a deterioration" in the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Saturday after Hu met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

South Korea, Japan and the U.S. have been trying to forge a unified negotiating strategy for the talks - intensive talks started Wednesday and have continued virtually nonstop - but South Korea remained reluctant to join Washington's call for tough measures against the North.

U.S. President George W. Bush failed to win a pledge from South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to fully participate in a U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, or PSI, that is largely aimed at stopping North Korean weapons traffic at sea.

Bush and Roh met early Saturday, then held talks with Abe. Roh also met Abe separately, and the South Korean and U.S. foreign ministers also were meeting. Bush also talked with seven leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with the North Korean issue on the agenda.

South Korea has been reluctant to take moves that would upset the North, wary of the possibility of greater tensions.

South Korean President Roh said his country "is not taking part in full scope" in PSI but would "support the principles and goals."

Bush tried to put a positive spin on the disagreement, saying he and Roh have a mutual desire to "effectively enforce the will of the world" through UN sanctions imposed on North Korea for its nuclear test.

"I appreciate the cooperation we're receiving from South Korea for the Proliferation Security Initiative," Bush said.

South Korea's foreign minister-designate, Song Min-soon, played down the apparent division, saying the two leaders had "an accurate understanding" of each other's position.

The two leaders also discussed what they could offer - in terms of aid and security guarantees - to the North in exchange for its taking steps toward dismantling its nuclear program, Song said, without elaborating.

South Korea's efforts to dispel perceptions of friction with Washington came just a day after it suggested that the U.S. needs to show more flexibility at the six-party talks.

© The Canadian Press, 2006