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APEC backs curbs on N. Korea

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: The leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum on Sunday "agreed to ask the parties to swiftly implement [United Nations] Resolution 1718." The resolution has imposed arms-related and financial sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear-weapon test in October.

The forum did not issue a formal statement on the issue. Instead, the broad consensus, which contained no specifics on how to deal with Pyongyang, was announced by summit host and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet at a press conference in Hanoi after the conclusion of the two-day conference. There was also no mention of any concern being expressed over the North Korean action.

Mr. Triet said the APEC leaders "called upon parties concerned to come back to the six-party talks so as to reach a satisfactory solution at an earliest possible date." The objective should be "peace and stability."

The conspicuous omission of North Korea from the Hanoi Declaration was seen by regional diplomats as a failure of the leaders to resolve their differences over it. They did not even paper over these differences. The leaders reaffirmed commitment to work towards the resumption of the stalled Doha Development Round talks.

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