Steps aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons drive and removing barriers to investment and trade are expected to be among key topics in both the APEC and bilateral meetings, US officials said.

For the first time, Bush and the other APEC leaders will discuss the feasibility of forging a free trade agreement among the 21 economies, which account for nearly half of world trade and generate 70 per cent of global economic growth, the officials said.

The free trade plan comes amid a deadlock in talks to forge a new global trade accord.

Accompanied by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Bush will also have the opportunity at APEC to meet with four of the six players in multilateral talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions.

They would "discuss what we should try and accomplish when we do begin the next round of the six-party talks," US officials said.

Following its defiant missile launches and nuclear weapons tests, North Korea has agreed to return to talks with the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea.

The six-party talks to resume in Beijing possibly next month is to explore an effective channel in which North Korea could abandon its atomic weapons in return for energy and other aid and diplomatic and security guarantees.

"You could not ask for better diplomacy since the detonation of the nuclear weapon in North Korea than what you've seen from the United States, Japan, and even, to a lesser extent, South Korea," said Kurt Cambell, a former senior Pentagon official.

Bush's national security advisor Steve Hadley said the rapidly growing Southeast Asian region was of "great importance" to the United States and that the US leader would seek to "reaffirm the centrality of the freedom agenda" and "continue to encourage efforts in the war on terror" as well as highlight "the principles of good governance, investment in people and economic freedom.

The United States is the biggest investor and top export market for the region.

But even before making his trip, Bush suffered a setback of sorts Tuesday when the House of Representative abandoned plans to vote again on a bill to grant "permanent normal trade relations" (PNTR) status to Vietnam.

The blow came a week after his Republican party was routed in legislative elections and lost control of Congress.

Bush had wanted to grant Vietnam PNTR on his maiden visit to the former battlefield enemy state.

A vote on the bill failed Monday and the House had wanted to make another attempt to pass it on Wednesday but an official said it had been postponed to possibly next month.

It is believed a number of labor unions were reported to have whipped up opposition to the planned legislation.

1

2