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APEC Leaders Promise to Advance Trade, Combat Terrorism


Asia-Pacific leaders promised Sunday to advance trade and combat terrorism -- and expressed strong concern about North Korea's nuclear ambitions, at the end of the annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, or APEC.

Vietnam's president, Nguyen Minh Triet read a statement in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi -- calling North Korea's October nuclear test "a clear threat" and urging the country to uphold its commitment to stop developing nuclear weapons.

The North Korean issue does not appear in the final written APEC declaration. Officials say that while the leaders were united in their concern about the nuclear test, they could not agree on how to express it.

APEC's declaration warns of grave economic consequences if the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks fail. The organization pledges to re-start the talks that stalled in July after a conflict over agricultural trade.

The summit declaration also says leaders will look for ways to launch a U.S.-backed plan for a trans-Pacific free trade area that would stretch from China to Chile and from Australia to Canada. Discussions are set to begin at next year's APEC meeting in Australia.

Pledges made at APEC are non-binding. However, analysts see the gatherings as significant since the group's economies account for roughly half of the world's gross domestic product.

The APEC summit drew 21 leaders from the Pacific Rim, including the presidents of the U.S, China and Russia.

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