January 15, 2007	Monday	Zilhaj 24, 1427

CEBU (Philippines): East Asian leaders shelved differences on Sunday to put pressure on North Korea as countries around the region prepared to wrap up days of diplomatic summits with their biggest meeting of all.

Leaders from 16 countries including Southeast Asia as well as China, Australia and others will hold the second East Asia summit on Monday, with talks expected on energy, disaster management, terrorism and other regional concerns.

China, Japan and South Korea held their first summit in more than two years on Sunday, announcing a Tokyo visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao amid improving relations that have been strained by tensions over Japan’s wartime past.

In an unexpected sign of unity, the three forged a common front on North Korea -- with China publicly joining the others in taking Pyongyang to task over concerns about its abductions of Japanese and South Korean nationals.

Japan, which has repeatedly pressed the North over the kidnappings, hailed the statement as a “huge step” after Wen’s talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun.

The trio said North Korea “must effectively address the humanitarian concerns of the international community”, which officials said referred to the kidnappings to help train North Korean spies.

“This is the first time China has raised the abductions issue,” a Japanese official told reporters. In another sign that relations are improving under Abe, who took office in September, China said Wen would visit in the spring.

Their talks took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a ten-nation bloc looking to play an expanded role on the international stage.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, the current Asean chair who hosted this year’s gathering in the resort of Cebu, meanwhile worked to increase the pressure on Myanmar, the bloc’s most troublesome member.

Asean held its summit on Saturday, agreeing on an ambitious plan to create a common market by 2015, strengthen cooperation on terrorism and sign a charter this year to impose European Union-style binding rules on its ten members.

The meetings were postponed last month because of what the Philippines said was bad weather, but the cancellation came after Australia and other nations warned of a possible terror attack during the meetings.—AFP