Asia-Pacific summit opens in shadow of "war on terror," nuclear proliferat

[maddezmom]

SANTIAGO (AFP) - Asia-Pacific leaders opened an annual summit, immersed in US President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s "war on terror" agenda and in the shadow of the nuclear ambitions of North Korea (news - web sites) and Iran.

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Preparations for the talks, which wrap up Sunday with an informal "retreat" in the neoclassical La Moneda palace of Santiago, have been dominated by fear over nuclear proliferation and by the anti-terrorism campaign.


Bush warned Iran over reports it has accelerated production of uranium material that could be used to make nuclear weapons, and vowed to unite Asia-Pacific allies in pressing North Korea to abandon an admitted nuclear weapons program.

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APEC appeared split over the free trade plan.

Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States backed it, while others, such as China, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia, were cautious or opposed it, APEC sources said.

more: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1504&ncid=1504&e=2&u=/afp/20041120/ts_afp/apec_041120183044