Asia-Pacific leaders vowed today to free up trade and combat terrorism while condemning North Korea's October 9 nuclear test, as security issues again overshadowed the group's annual meetings.
This year's chairman of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet, said in response to a question at a news conference that North Korea's actions posed "a clear threat to our shared interest of peace and security".
Reading out a statement he delivered earlier to the leaders at their closed-door summit, Triet said they stressed the need to implement UN sanctions imposed on North Korea after the Oct. 9 test and expressed support for six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programmes.
Asked if the oral rather than written delivery of the message was a setback, David McCormick, a White House National Security Council official, said what mattered was that the statement was "very firm".
"What was important was that the members of APEC came together on a common statement (on North Korea)."
APEC's 21 leaders issued a "Hanoi Declaration" following their summit outlining steps to liberalise commerce in a region that accounts for nearly half of global trade and pledging to "combat terrorism in every form and manifestation".