Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation foreign and trade ministers convened on Wednesday at the spanking new, German-designed $270 million National Convention Centre in a Hanoi suburb ahead of the summit of their leaders scheduled for the weekend.

The U.S. proposal sparked robust debate that ended with the chairman deciding the idea of a free trade area encompassing all 21 members should be studied "as a long-term objective", Japan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba told reporters.

But he added that the U.S. initiative to link APEC's economies -- which account for nearly half of world trade and generate 70 percent of global economic growth -- was appreciated.

"We (the Japanese) welcomed the U.S. proposal for the FTA because we had the impression that the U.S. was losing interest in the Asia-Pacific. The proposal demonstrates its willingness to resume the APEC process," he said.

APEC business leaders had earlier supported the idea, saying it would have consolidated mini-pacts that have proliferated in recent years, adding costs and complexity to doing business in the region. At least 50 FTAs have been agreed or are under discussion among countries represented at APEC.

RESCUSCITATING DOHA

The summit would now focus on calls to resume the Doha round of global trade talks, which collapsed in July amid clashes over subsidies and tariffs for farm goods.

"Resuscitating the Doha round is clearly the top trading priority for all WTO countries represented here at APEC," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told a news conference.

The final draft of a ministerial statement due to be released on Thursday reaffirms the importance of the round and urges the leaders to issue a stand alone statement saying APEC wants the negotiations resumed "without further delay".

A draft of a leaders' statement was circulating in Hanoi on Wednesday but a Malaysian diplomat said any drafts were subject to further revisions and a revision meeting was scheduled for Thursday.

The annual APEC extravaganza began on a sour note after the U.S. Congress failed to pass legislation normalising trade ties with Vietnam, America's old Cold War foe, although the State Department did remove Vietnam from a religion blacklist.

Schwab said the bill would come up again next month in Congress and was sure to pass with strong bipartisan support.

As ministers talked trade, envoys to stalled negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme met on the sidelines and recommended that host Beijing reconvene the talks in the first half of December.

U.S., Japanese and South Korean envoys to the talks said North Korea will have to "demonstrate in concrete terms" a commitment to denuclearisation, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba said.

Briefing reporters after the envoys met, Sakaba said they also agreed they would not accept North Korea as a nuclear power at those meetings.

North Korea declared after it exploded a nuclear device on October 9 that it should be recognised as a nuclear power.

North Korea drew worldwide condemnation when it conducted a nuclear test last month but agreed to return to the talks -- which also include Russia and China -- after Washington agreed to discuss curbs it has placed on the North's financial dealings.

BUSH ON HIS WAY

The APEC convention -- which includes a meeting of CEOs from around the world -- is the biggest international event Vietnam has hosted, with an estimated 10,000 people expected to attend.

Banners welcomed visitors every few hundred metres along the roads and police in khaki green uniforms were positioned on every corner, poised to stop a sea of mopeds, cars and bicycles to allow passage to delegates.

U.S. President George W. Bush was scheduled to arrive on Friday on his first foreign trip since his Republican party suffered a defeat in congressional elections last week.

His visit was bound to be shadowed by comparisons between the Iraq and Vietnam wars and between himself and predecessor Bill Clinton, whose visit six years ago caused a sensation.

Many Hanoi residents remember how people lined the streets from the airport and took every opportunity to see Clinton, the first U.S. president to visit since the war.

But with security at a premium in the post-September 11 world and the unpopular U.S. war in Iraq raging, Bush's reception was expected to be cooler.

In fact, Bush will have few opportunities to meet Vietnamese outside of official circles, in contrast to Clinton's impromptu stops to shake hands with people on the street in 2000.