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Be strong America President strong is good

Bush, backed by Asia-Pacific allies, warns North Korea, Iran over nukes

SANTIAGO (AFP) - US President George W. Bush (news - web sites), bagging support from Asia-Pacific allies at an annual summit in Chile, bluntly warned North Korea (news - web sites) and Iran to scrap any nuclear weapon plans
The American leader, recruiting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (news - web sites)

(APEC (news - web sites)) forum to his "war on terror," told North Korea the region was united against its nuclear arms drive and warned Iran over its suspected atomic plans.
Several hundred anti-Bush, anti-APEC protesters marched peacefully in Santiago, a show of calm after clashes with anti-riot police the day in which three people suffered bullet wounds and 250 were detained.

The 21 leaders dined at an old railway station-turned cultural center Saturday night, after a day dedicated to nuclear dangers. Talks wrap up Sunday with an informal "retreat" in the neoclassical La Moneda palace of
Santiago.

"I can report to you today that having visited with the other nations involved in this collaborative effort that the will is strong, that the effort is united, and the message is clear to (North Korean leader) Mr. Kim Jong-Il: Get rid of your nuclear weapons programs," Bush said in a speech to business leaders.

Three rounds of multilateral talks have taken place since the stand-off began in October 2002, but North Korea boycotted a fourth round of talks scheduled for Beijing in September.

A senior White House aide, briefing reporters on condition he not be named, said North Korean officials had let China know in recent weeks that Pyongyang was prepared to return
to the talks, but "when, or how, or who, they did not say."

Bush leveraged support at the summit to give Iran warning over reports that the Islamic republic has accelerated production of uranium material that could be used to make nuclear weapons.

"This is a very serious matter, the world knows it's a serious matter, and we're working together to solve this matter," he said. "It's very important for the Iranian government to hear that we are concerned about their
desires, and we're concerned about reports that show that prior to a certain international meeting, they're willing to speed up processing of materials that could lead to a nuclear weapon," Bush said.

Diplomats told AFP on Friday that Iran is producing the uranium feedstuff that could be used to make nuclear weapons, only days before it is due to introduce a promised ban on all such enrichment activities.

Security concerns dominated a series of mini-summits in the run-up the main APEC gatherings. Bush got support from China over the North Korean nuclear threat during a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"Both sides expressed the hope that the issue can be solved peacefully, through dialogue," Hu told reporters after the encounter. In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), however, the US leader strayed into domestic politics and said he was worried about "overcentralization of power" in the Kremlin, a senior US official told reporters. But Washington's Asia-Pacific partners also showed some caution Saturday, warning US-led anti-terrorist campaign must include a resolution to the Palestinian question and involve a broader coalition.

"It is not in the interest of our planet to have a proportion of the Muslim world world deeply alienated from the West," New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark told a business conference.

Trade and economics were largely shoved aside here.
Asia-Pacific business executives, sipping bottled water at zinc-colored curvy bars, mingled with the leaders Friday to sell their idea for a regional free trade area. But the plan seemed to get a mixed reception. Chile, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Singapore back the free trade area plan while others such as China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia were cautious or opposed it, APEC sources said.

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