Bush wins Iraq showdown with Congress

HANOI (AP) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met Wednesday with officials in Vietnam, which has drawn criticism from Washington for a recent crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

Hill held talks with Vice Foreign Minister Le Van Bang and was scheduled to meet with President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Angela Aggeler, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, said Hill would discuss a wide range of bilateral issues, without elaborating.

They were expected to include Vietnam's recent crackdown on dissidents, resulting in numerous arrests and the conviction of six dissidents this month.

Hill, the chief U.S. negotiator in international talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament, is visiting Vietnam ahead of a Southeast Asian security forum later this week in the Philippines. Representatives from North Korea also are expected to attend, but it was unclear whether Hill planned to meet with them.

Hill said last week that the U.S. would not let a dispute over US$25 million in North Korean funds allegedly tied to money laundering and counterfeiting stand in the way of achieving progress in the North's nuclear disarmament.

North Korea missed a deadline last month under a February agreement to shut down its nuclear reactor. It has refused to take action until it receives the funds, which were frozen at a bank in Macau after the U.S. blacklisted the institution two years ago.

The money has since been freed, but the transfer has been delayed because other banks are apparently hesitant to touch the tainted funds.