SANTIAGO, Nov 19 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush arrived here late Friday for an Asia-Pacific summit at which he is expected to press on with free trade talks and seek renewed help to defuse the North Korea nuclear crisis.
The US president's official Air Force One airplane touched down around 8:45 p.m. (2345 GMT) in Santiago, where anti-Bush protesters have been clashing with police on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
He was to meet separately Saturday with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, South Korean Roh Moo-Hyun, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bush hoped to win support for a new round of six-party talks aimed at ending the standoff over North Korea's nuclear programs, and was eager to push for freer trade as well as continued support for the global war on terrrorism.
Iran's nuclear aspirations were also expected to be on the agenda when Bush meets Putin.
After APEC, Bush was to make a brief official visit to Chile, meeting with President Ricardo Lagos, and then travel for an hours-long stop in Colombia to show support for President Alvaro Uribe's battle against drug trafficking.
11/20/2004 00:26 GMT - AFP