SYDNEY : Ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific economies Wednesday launched talks in Sydney expected to be dominated by North Korea's nuclear programme, climate change and efforts to revive global trade talks.

The 40 foreign and trade ministers were whisked into a harbourfront Sydney convention centre which has been turned into a fortress, with a two metre (seven-foot) high steel and concrete wall designed to keep protesters at bay and block potential car or truck bombings.

The ministers immediately went into a closed-door meeting.

They are also scheduled to meet for dinner, as US President George W. Bush began a three-day official visit to Australia ahead of a weekend regional summit.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum members account for 48 percent of world trade, 56 percent of global economic output and 41 percent of the earth's population.

Bush, the leader of APEC's wealthiest and most powerful member, arrived in Sydney amid high security late Tuesday, while China's President Hu Jintao arrived the previous day and Russia's Vladimir Putin was expected on Friday.

Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss has said he would meet his counterparts Wednesday to try to give the difficult Doha round of talks of the World Trade Organisation another push in hopes of concluding the six year-old negotiations by the end of the year.

The host of this week's meetings, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, has said the threat of climate change is high on the agenda, but acknowledged that security and terrorism would be discussed in bilateral meetings.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China and its Hong Kong territory, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. - AFP/ch