Pacific Rim leaders concluded a two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi on Sunday, agreeing to inject new flexibility into the stalled World Trade Organization Doha Round negotiations. The 21-member bloc, which accounts for nearly half of global trade, pledged to move beyond previously fixed positions in order to break the deadlock.
A US proposal for an Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area received no formal discussion at the summit, though the idea is gaining traction inside APEC both as a contingency if Doha fails and as leverage to encourage European Union concessions.
Security on the Korean peninsula dominated sideline talks. The US and Japan backed a harder line toward Pyongyang, including cargo inspections under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), following North Korea's nuclear test on 9 October. South Korea's president resisted full PSI participation, preferring a combination of dialogue and pressure so as not to antagonize the North ahead of expected six-party talks in Beijing next month.
Despite tactical differences, all parties agreed that North Korea must not be permitted to retain nuclear weapons, and they sought to project a unified front heading into the next round of negotiations.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.