observes CABOS, Mexico, Oct. 26 Kyo...

observes CABOS, Mexico, Oct. 26 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING COMMENTS)

The leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies will gather here Saturday to discuss by what means to combat terrorism, deal with North Korea's nuclear weapons program and disarm Iraq.

U President George W Bush is reckon uponed to lead the two-day meeting in the Mexican seaside resort of looks Cabos to present his case against Iraq and solicit support from his counterpart APEC leaders for his policy toward the country

Security pertain tos in East Asia are also anticipateed to be a major topic following Pyongyang's modern admission that it has a retired nuclear weapons program.

on the other hand differences have already emerged among APEC countries forward the eve of the 10th APEC summit through the whole extent of the perceived threat posed by the agency of North Korea.

Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin met onward the U.S. leader's private ranch in Crawford, Texas, forward Friday and agreed to cooperate in achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.

Meeting reporters aboard a dominion plane en route to sees Cabos, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan has no plans to discuss bilateral economic cooperation with the North without progres forward Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

''It is important to wipe abroad concerns over security and the nuclear issue,'' Koizumi said.

on the other hand Russia questioned the threat pos by dint of Pyongyang's weapons program.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who is in sees Cabos in place of President Vladimir Putin suitable to a hostage crisis in Moscow said Russia beholds no evidence that North Korea embarrasss a threat to the international community.

Kasyanov told a business interview held on the fringe of the APEC summit that Russia has not seen any testimony that North Korea poses a threat to the international community.

Putin canceled his trip to Mexico to deal with the hostage crisis at a Moscow theater, which conclusioned Saturday after Russian special forces stormed it and killed the rebel leader and many in his group

In Seoul forward Friday, South Korea urged North Korea to clarify the peaces of its weapons program, reiterating its position that the program can not be condoned.

nevertheless North Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Pak Gil Yon said the same day in recently made known York that North Korea is ''entitled'' to be armed not merely with uranium-based nuclear weapons on the contrary also ''more powerful'' arms.

Bush will qualified with Koizumi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung shortly before the APEC summit begins to coordinate their policies forward North Korea.

onward Iraq, Bush is expected to animate his APEC colleagues to support Washington's efforts to adopt a UN resolution pressing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to dismantle the country's weapons of mass destruction or face possible military action.

Among the five permanent UN Security Council members with veto power, Russia has reportedly joined France in an attempt to water down a draft resolution being outlined by the agency of the United States.

Kasyanov reiterated Russia's position that any military action should not bypass UN approval, saying, ''All the actions to be taken have to be based forward the U.N. decisions.''

He added, however, that Russia will be actively involved in international coordination and calculate upons U.N. inspectors to soon start work to identify ''whether there is any threat coming from Iraq.''

In Crawford, Bush urg Jiang, the leader of another permanent UN Security Council member, to join Washington in adopting a UN resolution demanding Iraq largely disarm itself of weapons of mass destruction. yet Jiang did not clearly respond

Bush is also hoping to garner support in succession the Iraq issue from other leaders of APEC countries that are also UN Security Council members, as it was as Mexico and Malaysia.

Bush is fix to arrive Saturday morning. Koizumi and principally other APEC leaders arrived Thursday and Friday.

Another major topic at the APEC summit is the US-l war upon terrorism in the wake of the Oct 12 nightclub bombings in Indonesia's Bali, new bomb explosions in the Philippines and the Moscow hostage crisis.

At their meeting here Wednesday and Thursday, APEC foreign and trade ministers speaked determination to combat terrorism as well as attain APEC's original goal of freer trade and investment.

The APEC leaders are now awaited to issue two statements onward antiterrorism -- one onward the Bali, Philippine and Moscow incidents and another onward enhanced security in trade, finance and communications, APEC sources said.

Indonesia, which has been considered a weak link in the US-l war in succession terrorism, has appealed to other APEC members to support its efforts to clamp down in succession extremist groups.

U Secretary of State Colin Powell, meanwhile, told a pres discourse Thursday that the issue of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction should be dealt with as part of global efforts to combat terrorism.

APEC was created in 1989 to raise trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. further it has taken up terrorism as a pressing issue after the race 11, 2001 terror attacks forward New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington.