VIETNAM: Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Vietnam ahead of APEC summit; Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says it is important not to send mixed messages to North Korea

Chinese President Hu Jintao was officially welcomed at Vietnam's presidential palace after he landed in Hanoi on Thursday (November 16). Hu was embraced by Vietnam's Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and President Nguyen Minh Triet, as onlookers waved Chinese flags and a military band played the Chinese anthem followed by Vietnam's national anthem. The Chinese president is in Vietnam for APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation, summit which aims to improve economical and political ties within the region. Hu, who arrived from Vietnam's central city of Danang after a three-day visit, was also given a red carpet welcome when he arrived at the airport in Hanoi. But he brought no news of six-party talks aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Breaking down barriers to global and regional trade topped the agenda on Thursday for ministers of 21 Pacific rim economies gathered in Vietnam for the biggest party Hanoi has ever thrown. The United States wanted security issues to also stay on the table, asking Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum members to keep their financial systems from being exploited by weapons proliferators in a pointed reference to North Korea. Speaking at a news conference at APEC, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it was not good enough to have six-party talks with no outcome. "If they are to be useful six-party talks, they have to be six-party talks that actually take the process forward. There have to be real outcomes from those talks. It shouldn't be believed, and I don't think the international community would believe, that just having talks is a success," Downer said. He said it was important that international community did not send mixed messages to North Korea. "It shouldn't send a message to the North Koreans that because they've agreed to participate in six party talks maybe we should review the, UN Security Council sanctions, under Security Council resolution 1718. We should be sending a message to the North Koreans that those sanctions are part of international law, they are tough sanctions, they should be enforced and those sanctions won't be reviewed until the demands of the United Nations Security Council, and more broadly the international community, are accepted," Downer said. Other summit participants were also worried about the potential destabilizing effect of North Korea, especially as the impoverished state recently conducted a nuclear test. North Korea has also been known to sell missile technology to raise hard currency for its isolated economy. Delegates from Japan, the United States and South Korea have met on the sidelines of the forum to discuss reviving comatose talks on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. North Korea boycotted the talks - which also include Russia - after the United States started freezing its financial assets around the world on grounds that it was engaging in illegal activities such as money laundering. It agreed to come back to the table -- possibly as early as December -- after Washington agreed to discuss the curbs. But talks host China has yet to commit to a date.

ITN Source | November 16, 2006

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