Asia-Pacific leaders, yanked into the "war on terror" and a nuclear proliferation crisis, Sunday wrapped up an annual summit dominated by US President George W. Bush's core security agenda. The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum's founding agenda - the economy, particularly trade - was submerged by Washington's priorities, prompting murmurs of discomfort from some allies.
Bush, packing new legitimacy from his re-election, joined with his partners at an informal "retreat", the last round of summit talks, in the neo-classical La Moneda palace of Santiago.
The written statement, much of it scribbled up in advance by bureaucrats, is likely to incorporate a broad sweep of the Apec agenda: advancing regional and world trade, bolstering security and fighting corruption.
But the actual Apec talks, both among leaders and their ministers, have been overwhelmed by Bush's security aims and an attempt to unite in pushing North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons ambitions.
At a joint photograph in the morning, visibly uneasy leaders donned brightly coloured blanket-style ponchos instead of sober suits. Bush sported a deep red, embroidered, square "chamanto" slung over his shirt and pants. Similar discomfort accompanied the negotiations.
"Some Apec developed economies are pushing to expand the Apec agenda beyond its current economic mandate to include the twin agenda on security issues like proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the elimination of terrorist groups," Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz complained in the run-up. Observers said Malaysia was not alone in its discomfort.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark warned that the US-led global 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 deeply alienated from the West," she told a business conference. But on the surface, the summit fell in line.
"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 Mr Kim Jong-Il: Get rid of your nuclear weapons programs," Bush told business leaders on the summit sidelines Saturday.
NORTH KOREA WAS DEFIANT: Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper and official mouthpiece for the ruling communist party, vowed to bolster defences "as long as the US persists in its attempt to stifle the DPRK with nuclear weapons."
But a senior White House aide said North Korean officials had let China know in recent weeks that Pyongyang was prepared to return to talks aimed at ending a nuclear weapons crisis, but "when, or how, or who, they did not say."
Three rounds of multilateral talks have taken place since the stand-off began in October 2002, but Pyongyang boycotted a fourth round of talks scheduled for Beijing in September.
On Iran, Bush said the world was working together over suspicions that the Islamic republic has accelerated production of uranium material that could be used to make nuclear weapons.
In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US leader for the first broached the issue of Moscow's domestic politics and said he was worried about "over-centralisation of power" in the Kremlin, a senior US official told reporters.
Speaking to Chinese President Hu Jintao, he got a qualified promise that Beijing would loosen a fixed-peg to the dollar, blamed by American exporters for giving China an unfair trade advantage.
"We will continue to push forward the reform on the yuan exchange rate, while maintaining overall stability in our economy," Hu was quoted as telling Bush by a Chinese official.
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