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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, BRUNEI __ The Sultan of Brunei, host of
the 8th annual meeting of leaders of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) economies, yesterday issued a special
statement supporting Korean peace.
At the conclusion of the two-day summit at the Jerudong Polo Club
here in the presence of all APEC leaders, Hassanal Bolkiah
``commended President Kim Dae- jung for his contribution to the
process of reconciliation and cooperation on the Korean peninsula
since the first inter-Korean summit.''
He also said, ``We, the APEC leaders, support President Kim's
endeavor to encourage the participation of North Korea in the APEC
working groups.''
Before all of the 21 APEC leaders, the sultan said, ``Before I
conclude this year's summit, I cannot let this occasion pass without
taking the opportunity to warmly congratulate Kim for winning this
year's Nobel Peace Prize. I am sure the sentiment is shared by all
the APEC leaders here.''
According to presidential press secretary Park Joon-young, it is
meaningful for the APEC, which has so far shunned discussing
political issues, to issue a special statement supporting the
inter-Korean peace process.
It symbolizes that all of the APEC leaders endorse and support the
process of nter- Korean reconciliation and cooperation.
Similar statements were issued by the United Nations last September
as well as at the third Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM).
contributed by TheKoreaTimes