China and Russia are denouncing an international summit on North Korea in Vancouver next week, saying the event co-hosted by Canada and the United States is “a relapse of the Cold War mentality.”

Washington and Ottawa have called the meeting to demonstrate international commitment to diplomatic solutions to the escalating threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, Brian Hook, Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department, told reporters Thursday.

“The ministerial – the goal of the ministerial is to provide a practical mechanism – mechanisms to exert continued pressure on the Kim regime while demonstrating that diplomatic options remain open and viable,” Hood said.

The so-called Vancouver Group meeting on Jan. 16 will include the original states that sent troops to fight in the 1950-53 Korean War under the United Nations Command, as well as representatives from the Republic of Korea, Japan, India and Sweden.
• Canada, U.S. to co-host meeting on North Korea in Vancouver

But while countries like Ethiopia, Greece and Colombia are expected to be at the summit – they had each dispatched over 1,000 soldiers to fight under the UN banner in 1950 – neither China nor Russia, two of North Korea’s immediate and influential neighbours, will be in Vancouver when summit co-hosts Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson sit down with other foreign ministers.

“We know about the plans to hold a meeting of Korean War allies in Vancouver. We regard this as a relapse of the Cold War mentality that is unacceptable in light of the nascent dialogue between North Korea and South Korea,” Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova tweeted.

“We consider it impossible to support an event that may lead to the escalation of an already tense situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

Her comments echoed a statement by her Chinese counterpart.

“It will only create divisions within the international community and harm joint efforts to appropriately resolve the Korean peninsula nuclear issue,” spokesman Lu Kang was quoted as telling reporters in Beijing on Wednesday.

U.S. and Canadian officials couldn’t offer a convincing explanation when asked about the motives for not inviting the two countries that have the most influence with Pyongyang and have a huge stake in a peaceful resolution of the crisis given that they both share a land border with North Korea.

“With respect to China and the Vancouver ministerial, we will give them a readout of this ministerial after it’s over, and we have been in discussions with the Chinese and the Russians leading up to this Vancouver ministerial,” Hook said. “This is based on sending states. China and Russia were not sending states.”

One of the reasons of not including Beijing and Moscow in the Vancouver summit probably has to do with the fact that the participants will likely focus on coming up with measures to tighten the screws on Pyongyang even further, including significantly tightening the maritime surveillance of the Hermit Kingdom’s imports.

“We continue to explore all options to enhance maritime security and the ability to interdict maritime traffic, those transporting goods to and from the DPRK that support the nuclear and missile program,” Hood said, referring to the North by its official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“And we will be discussing with our partners and allies the kind of steps that we can take on maritime interdiction and also to be cutting – disrupting funding and disrupting resources. And maritime interdiction helps us to disrupt resources, and then the financial side helps us to disrupt the financing of their nuclear and missile program.”

While both Russia and China have supported the recent UN Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang, the two countries, particularly China, worry that instead of making Pyongyang more compliant, tightening of the sanctions could drive the North Koreans over the edge.

Both countries also want to limit U.S. and allied military presence in the region and the potential of having dozens of additional navy warships from various U.S.-allied nations trying to interdict North Korean vessels so close to the main Russian and Chinese ports in the Pacific is not an idea that either Moscow or Beijing cherish. </s> VANCOUVER -- If North Korea wants freedom from sanctions and acceptance from the international community, it must end its nuclear weapons program, Canada and some of its closest partners insisted Tuesday as they kicked off a major international meeting aimed at ending Pyongyang's ongoing "nuclearization."

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her counterparts from 20 countries -- including the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Britain -- began the meeting in Vancouver with a unanimous missive to the North Korean government: give up your nuclear weapons.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chrystia Freeland, centre, poses for a photo with Japan's Foreign Affairs Minister, Taro Kono, second from left, Secretary of State of the United States, Rex Tillerson, right, during a meeting on the Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

"Our message is clear," Freeland said. "The pursuit of nuclearization will bring you neither security nor prosperity. Investing in nuclear weapons will lead only to more sanctions and to perpetual instability on the peninsula."

Canada and the U.S. are co-hosting the one-day meeting, which was called in response to concerns about North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities.

The purpose, said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, was to increase the "maximum-pressure campaign" on North Korea by clamping down on its efforts to evade sanctions through smuggling and other illicit activity.

Tillerson was expected to push participating countries, all of whom were invited because of their support for South Korea during the Korean War, to help stop North Korean smuggling by sea.

"The states represented at this meeting harbour no hostility to North Korea. On the contrary, we seek neither a regime change nor a collapse." - Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland

Yet he also delivered a warning to China and Russia, neither of which were invited to participate in the Vancouver meeting, and both of which have been accused of helping Kim Jong Un's regime skirt international sanctions.

"We all must insist on a full enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions, as this is the letter of law. We especially urge Russia and China in this matter," Tillerson said.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gives his opening remarks as South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha listens at the Vancouver Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada January 16, 2018. DON MACKINNON/AFP/Getty Images

"Full implementation is an essential measure for the security of their people, and a clear indication of their willingness to honour their international commitments. We cannot abide lapses or sanctions evasions."

The North Koreans recently reached out to their South Korean brethren for the first time in years and will participate in next month's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, a development welcomed by Freeland and several other leaders.

"We all must insist on a full enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions, as this is the letter of law. We especially urge Russia and China in this matter." - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

However, those leaders say what Tillerson described as a "maximum-pressure campaign" against North Korea will continue until Kim Jong Un and his regime agree to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

"This year started with North Korea's move towards an inter-Korean dialogue. However, there has not been any positive move in terms of resolving the nuclear and missile programs," said Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

"Today's foreign ministers meeting provides a timely opportunity to demonstrate an unwavering commitment of the international community to achieve complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

The participants, whose ranks include countries from around the world, are expected to spend the rest of the day behind closed doors, discussing how best to tighten sanctions against the North and possible avenues for diplomacy.

China and Russia have criticized the Vancouver meeting as a threat to peace efforts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded earlier this week that both China and Russia will be integral to securing peace on the Korean peninsula, but defended the meeting as one of several different efforts to resolve the conflict.

By Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa, with files from Laura Kane and Geordon Ormand in Vancouver </s> VANCOUVER (AFP, REUTERS) - Foreign ministers from 20 nations began crisis talks on Monday (Jan 16) on North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, though China's absence cast doubt over the effectiveness of any deal.

The two-day Vancouver meeting hosted by Canada and the United States comes amid signs of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula, after the North and South met for the first time in two years and Pyongyang agreed to sent athletes to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

And tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, which claimed it had successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the United States, appear to have calmed as well.

But the United States, which will review with allies at the summit the effectiveness of current sanctions against the hermit kingdom and explore adding more, remains skeptical that Kim is ready to negotiate away North Korea's weapons program.

The so-called Vancouver Group is formed by 20 countries that fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. They include Australia, Britain, France, India, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. Military officials will also be present at the meeting.

Many have questioned the utility of a conference where China - Pyongyang's main ally - and Russia are absent.

But officials said both countries, which hold veto power at the United Nations Security Council, would be briefed afterward.

China and Russia "absolutely will play an important role in moving toward peace on the Korean peninsula," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last week.

On Monday at his annual press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeatedly attacked the US, accusing Washington of issuing ultimatums and failing to recognise "the reality of the emerging multipolar world".

"Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centres of world politics," he said, adding that Washington was to blame for having "seriously aggravated" tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Pope Francis, meanwhile, admitted that he was frightened by the prospects of an accidental nuclear war.

"I think we are at the very edge," he told reporters aboard his plane en route to Chile for a weeklong visit there and in Peru.

"I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things."

The Vancouver meeting kicked off late Monday with a dinner and several bilateral meetings, before a full gathering on Tuesday to hammer out next steps in the standoff.

Among the proposals to be considered is sending warships to the Sea of Japan to stop and inspect suspect ships bound for North Korea in order to enforce sanctions.

South Korea already seized two ships carrying oil to the North in December.

Some countries, however, have warned that such methods could increase military tensions or be interpreted as an act of war by Kim's isolated regime.

The ultimate aim is to force Kim into a diplomatic negotiation to abandon the weapons his regime sees as crucial for its survival.

Trump recently said that, under the right circumstances, he would be willing to speak directly with the North Korean leader, whom he has described as mad and a "rocket man." Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, sought to drum up EU pressure on North Korea over the weekend during a six-country trip to the Baltics and the Balkans.

South Korean President Moon Jae In, who advocates dialogue with the North but remains critical of Pyongyang's weapons drive, said last week he was willing to have a summit with Kim "under the right conditions", but added that "certain outcomes must be guaranteed."

In a setback for such hopes, Pyongyang slammed Moon as "ignorant and unreasonable" for demanding preconditions - possibly a step toward denuclearization - for a summit.

"The South Korean chief executive should not be dreaming," the state-run KCNA news agency said in an editorial, accusing Moon of "brownnosing" the United States.

North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. Its agreement to send athletes, an orchestra and high-level officials to next month's Winter Olympics is seen in part as a move to ease military tensions with the US.

Seoul touted the recent inter-Korean talks as a potential first step to bringing the North into negotiations over its nuclear arsenal.

Further bilateral talks between the North and South are scheduled for Wednesday, after the Vancouver meeting. </s> VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson huddles Tuesday with nations that fought on America's side in the Korean War, looking to tighten the economic noose around North Korea over its nuclear weapons even as hopes rise for diplomacy.

The 20-nation gathering on Canada's western coast comes days after a mistaken missile alert caused panic on Hawaii, a stark reminder of the fears of conflict with the North after a year of escalating tension.

The meeting in Vancouver, hosted by Tillerson and his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland, was called before the recent start of talks between North and South Korea, the first in two years. The North restored a military hotline and agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics being hosted in February by the South, a close U.S. ally.

President Donald Trump has also signaled openness to talks with North Korea under the right circumstances. Despite the insults and blood-curdling threats he's traded with its leader Kim Jong Un, he suggested in an interview that the two leaders could have a positive relationship.

But Kim, widely viewed as seeking to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, shows no sign of making concessions toward Washington as his totalitarian government comes close to perfecting a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the United States.

The Vancouver meeting is intended to boost the campaign of "maximum pressure" that the Trump administration has championed to deprive the North of revenue for weapons development. Officials will discuss cooperation on sanctions, preventing the spread of weapons by North Korea, and diplomacy.

Brian Hook, Tillerson's senior policy adviser, said more needs to be done to interdict ships conducting illicit trade with North Korea. He said the U.S. wants the United Nations to mandate a port entry ban for such vessels.

The meeting is being attended by foreign ministers and senior diplomats of nations that sent troops or humanitarian aid to the U.N. Command that supported South Korea in the fight against the communist North and its allies during the 1950-53 Korean War. It's a diverse gathering of mostly European and Asian nations, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Columbia. Japan and South Korea are also taking part.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was to join a welcoming dinner for the delegates on Monday night.

China and Russia, which fought on the communist side in the war, oppose the meeting. They were not invited although they have the closest economic and diplomatic ties to North Korea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that a meeting that "doesn't include important parties to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue" cannot help resolve it.

Hook said China and Russia would be briefed afterward, and said the inter-Korean talks won't change Tuesday's agenda.

"We believe that this pressure campaign remains the best avenue to force change in Kim Jong Un's behavior and to get him to the negotiating table for meaningful discussions," he said.

The latest U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea, adopted in December in response to an intercontinental ballistic missile test, calls on member states to impound vessels suspected of illicit trade with the North, and authorizes interdictions in a member state's territorial waters.

It also restricts North Korean imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products, and further cuts into its ability to raise revenue for its weapons programs. Combined with previous U.N resolutions, more than 90 percent of North Korea's publicly reported exports as of 2016 are now banned.

Tillerson told The Associated Press in a recent interview that convening the so-called "sending states" to the U.N. Command in the Korean War was done deliberately to show that diplomacy "has to be backed up by a strong military alternative."

"It's just part of the necessity of impressing upon all parties the serious nature of this and the resolve of the United States and others that we are not going to accept a nuclear North Korea," Tillerson said.

US allies from Korean War meet on North Korean nuke threat

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson huddles Tuesday with nations that fought on America's side in the Korean War, looking to tighten the economic noose around North Korea over its nuclear weapons even as hopes rise for diplomacy.

The 20-nation gathering on Canada's western coast comes days after a mistaken missile alert caused panic on Hawaii, a stark reminder of the fears of conflict with the North after a year of escalating tension.

The meeting in Vancouver, hosted by Tillerson and his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland, was called before the recent start of talks between North and South Korea, the first in two years. The North restored a military hotline and agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics being hosted in February by the South, a close U.S. ally.

President Donald Trump has also signaled openness to talks with North Korea under the right circumstances. Despite the insults and blood-curdling threats he's traded with its leader Kim Jong Un, he suggested in an interview that the two leaders could have a positive relationship.

But Kim, widely viewed as seeking to drive a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, shows no sign of making concessions toward Washington as his totalitarian government comes close to perfecting a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the United States.

The Vancouver meeting is intended to boost the campaign of "maximum pressure" that the Trump administration has championed to deprive the North of revenue for weapons development. Officials will discuss cooperation on sanctions, preventing the spread of weapons by North Korea, and diplomacy.

Brian Hook, Tillerson's senior policy adviser, said more needs to be done to interdict ships conducting illicit trade with North Korea. He said the U.S. wants the United Nations to mandate a port entry ban for such vessels.

The meeting is being attended by foreign ministers and senior diplomats of nations that sent troops or humanitarian aid to the U.N. Command that supported South Korea in the fight against the communist North and its allies during the 1950-53 Korean War. It's a diverse gathering of mostly European and Asian nations, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Columbia. Japan and South Korea are also taking part.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was to join a welcoming dinner for the delegates on Monday night.

China and Russia, which fought on the communist side in the war, oppose the meeting. They were not invited although they have the closest economic and diplomatic ties to North Korea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters that a meeting that "doesn't include important parties to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue" cannot help resolve it.

Hook said China and Russia would be briefed afterward, and said the inter-Korean talks won't change Tuesday's agenda.

"We believe that this pressure campaign remains the best avenue to force change in Kim Jong Un's behavior and to get him to the negotiating table for meaningful discussions," he said.

The latest U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea, adopted in December in response to an intercontinental ballistic missile test, calls on member states to impound vessels suspected of illicit trade with the North, and authorizes interdictions in a member state's territorial waters.

It also restricts North Korean imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products, and further cuts into its ability to raise revenue for its weapons programs. Combined with previous U.N resolutions, more than 90 percent of North Korea's publicly reported exports as of 2016 are now banned.

Tillerson told The Associated Press in a recent interview that convening the so-called "sending states" to the U.N. Command in the Korean War was done deliberately to show that diplomacy "has to be backed up by a strong military alternative."

"It's just part of the necessity of impressing upon all parties the serious nature of this and the resolve of the United States and others that we are not going to accept a nuclear North Korea," Tillerson said. </s> VANCOUVER — A gathering of foreign ministers in Vancouver today to discuss the perils posed by North Korea is expected to focus on sanctions, non-proliferation and diplomacy.

Eric Walsh, Canada's ambassador to Korea, says ministers will aim to identify which sanctions are being evaded and how to improve enforcement, while also discussing possible diplomatic solutions.

He says non-proliferation is also a key topic, and participants will look at recent developments in North Korea's nuclear program and what they mean for the region and the international community.

The federal government has faced criticism for not inviting Russia and China to the summit, which instead brings together ministers from countries that supported the United Nations force in the Korean War.

Walsh says the conference is not meant to replace other discussions that are taking place, including at the UN Security Council, and instead it is meant to complement those talks.

He says there's "no question" that China and Russia have critical roles to play in North Korea and the summit, co-hosted by Canada and the U.S., was not intended to exclude them.

"We very much hope we'll be able to dialogue with them at a later date about what we're able to do here and find ways to stay engaged with them," he said.

Walsh made the comments at a panel discussion convened by the University of British Columbia on Monday, ahead of the conference that begins today.

Brian Gold, a University of Alberta history professor, said the summit is less about North Korea, to some degree, and more about Canada and South Korea as middle powers promoting a multilateral approach.

He said multilateralism was the intent of the United Nations alliance during the Korean War. </s> VANCOUVER - A gathering of foreign ministers in Vancouver today to discuss the perils posed by North Korea is expected to focus on sanctions, non-proliferation and diplomacy.

Eric Walsh, Canada's ambassador to Korea, says ministers will aim to identify which sanctions are being evaded and how to improve enforcement, while also discussing possible diplomatic solutions.

He says non-proliferation is also a key topic, and participants will look at recent developments in North Korea's nuclear program and what they mean for the region and the international community.

The federal government has faced criticism for not inviting Russia and China to the summit, which instead brings together ministers from countries that supported the United Nations force in the Korean War.

Walsh says the conference is not meant to replace other discussions that are taking place, including at the UN Security Council, and instead it is meant to complement those talks.

He says there's "no question" that China and Russia have critical roles to play in North Korea and the summit, co-hosted by Canada and the U.S., was not intended to exclude them.

"We very much hope we'll be able to dialogue with them at a later date about what we're able to do here and find ways to stay engaged with them," he said.

Walsh made the comments at a panel discussion convened by the University of British Columbia on Monday, ahead of the conference that begins today.

Brian Gold, a University of Alberta history professor, said the summit is less about North Korea, to some degree, and more about Canada and South Korea as middle powers promoting a multilateral approach.

He said multilateralism was the intent of the United Nations alliance during the Korean War.

"I think it's a great success in just that it's happening," he said of the conference.

"But true, yes, a greater success if it provides a rationale for an ongoing existence (of the alliance) and helps with some of these problems which have been identified."

However, political science Prof. Brian Job of the University of British Columbia said the meeting puts Canada in a "delicate tension."

"On the one hand, we're onside with concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons, we back the sanction regime, we support Secretary of State (Rex) Tillerson's ... diplomatic approach in Washington," Job said.

"But on the other hand â€¦ our interests in being seen as a middle power in this circumstance is not advanced by being seen as an instrument of U.S. agenda, advocating a one-note, hard line extreme pressure strategy, and I think particularly in convening meetings in which key players are not involved."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded Monday that both China and Russia will be integral to securing peace on the Korean peninsula, even as he defended the decision to leave the two countries out of the gathering.

Trudeau made the remarks after Russia became the latest to slam the meeting as a threat to peace efforts.

China, meanwhile, has already derided as "Cold War thinking" the involvement of only those allies that supported South Korea during the Korean War.

- With files from Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa </s> Canada is joining the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in a new surveillance initiative to counter North Korea’s maritime smuggling.

In a statement issued today by Global Affairs Canada, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and Minister of National Defence Harjit S. Sajjan pledged Canadian support for efforts to police the United Nation’s Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea.

The support includes committing a maritime patrol aircraft and approximately 40 personnel to the region to help “ensure effective implementation of UNSC sanctions on North Korea,” according to the statement.

The Canadian Armed Forces craft, to be based in the U.S. military’s Kadena air base in Japan, joins an Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft as the latest additions to a force of American, Japanese, and British air and sea crafts already in the region.

The initiative is designed to counter North Korea’s attempts to evade UN Security Council sanctions by providing maritime crafts that will allow the member states to monitor North Korean vessels on the high seas, in an effort to stop smuggling.

Since 2006, the UN Security Council has been imposing increasingly tougher sanctions against North Korea, in an attempt to pressure the country to abandon their nuclear weapons program.

The latest resolution from December sharply lowered limits on North Korea's refined oil imports and authorized Member States to inspect and seize ships suspected of smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.

In spite of the long standing sanctions, North Korea has continued to illegally export commodities to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam, as well as co-operating with Syria and Myanmar on ballistic missile technology. These illegal exports brought in nearly $200 million in just nine months last year, according to UN experts.

UN experts believe that North Korea has been using illegal ship-to-ship transfers to avoid the sanctions – a theory that was all but confirmed after Japan’s military witnessed such a transfer in late February of this year. The observed transfer was the third such incident reported by Japan that month.

Canada’s announcement was one of many to come in the wake of the historic meeting between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, which resulted in a joint statement pledging that the two countries would work to remove all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula.

Despite the nations welcoming the news of denuclearization, all have made it clear that they support maintaining the sanctions on North Korea until concrete action is taken.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today during a televised press conference that the member states hope that “surveillance of the area enables [ship-to-ship] smuggling to be identified and then, of course, those who are a party to that to be held responsible and brought to account.”

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan also respond to the Canadian and Australian efforts, saying ”Japan welcomes these activities from the view point of upholding the maximum pressure on North Korea while maintaining the solidarity of international community.” </s> Foreign ministers from 20 countries are meeting Tuesday to discuss security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Protesters carry a banner while marching outside the site of a summit on North Korea being hosted by Canada and the U.S., in Vancouver, B.C., on Monday January 15, 2018. Foreign ministers from 20 countries are meeting Tuesday to discuss security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A gathering of foreign ministers in Vancouver today to discuss the perils posed by North Korea is expected to focus on sanctions, non-proliferation and diplomacy.

Eric Walsh, Canada’s ambassador to Korea, says ministers will aim to identify which sanctions are being evaded and how to improve enforcement, while also discussing possible diplomatic solutions.

He says non-proliferation is also a key topic, and participants will look at recent developments in North Korea’s nuclear program and what they mean for the region and the international community.

The federal government has faced criticism for not inviting Russia and China to the summit, which instead brings together ministers from countries that supported the United Nations force in the Korean War.

Walsh says the conference is not meant to replace other discussions that are taking place, including at the UN Security Council, and instead it is meant to complement those talks.

He says there’s “no question” that China and Russia have critical roles to play in North Korea and the summit, co-hosted by Canada and the U.S., was not intended to exclude them.

“We very much hope we’ll be able to dialogue with them at a later date about what we’re able to do here and find ways to stay engaged with them,” he said.

Related: North Korea to join Olympics in South Korea as tensions ease

Walsh made the comments at a panel discussion convened by the University of British Columbia on Monday, ahead of the conference that begins today.

Brian Gold, a University of Alberta history professor, said the summit is less about North Korea, to some degree, and more about Canada and South Korea as middle powers promoting a multilateral approach.

He said multilateralism was the intent of the United Nations alliance during the Korean War.

“I think it’s a great success in just that it’s happening,” he said of the conference.

“But true, yes, a greater success if it provides a rationale for an ongoing existence (of the alliance) and helps with some of these problems which have been identified.”

However, political science Prof. Brian Job of the University of British Columbia said the meeting puts Canada in a “delicate tension.”

“On the one hand, we’re onside with concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapons, we back the sanction regime, we support Secretary of State (Rex) Tillerson’s … diplomatic approach in Washington,” Job said.

“But on the other hand … our interests in being seen as a middle power in this circumstance is not advanced by being seen as an instrument of U.S. agenda, advocating a one-note, hard line extreme pressure strategy, and I think particularly in convening meetings in which key players are not involved.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau conceded Monday that both China and Russia will be integral to securing peace on the Korean peninsula, even as he defended the decision to leave the two countries out of the gathering.

Trudeau made the remarks after Russia became the latest to slam the meeting as a threat to peace efforts.

China, meanwhile, has already derided as “Cold War thinking” the involvement of only those allies that supported South Korea during the Korean War.

— With files from Lee Berthiaume in Ottawa

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> OTTAWA — If North Korea wants freedom from sanctions and acceptance from the international community, it must end its nuclear weapons program, Canada and some of its closest partners insisted Tuesday as they kicked off a major international meeting aimed at ending Pyongyang's ongoing "nuclearization."

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her counterparts from 20 countries — including the U.S., Japan, South Korea and Britain — began the meeting in Vancouver with a unanimous missive to the North Korean government: give up your nuclear weapons.

"Our message is clear," Freeland said. "The pursuit of nuclearization will bring you neither security nor prosperity. Investing in nuclear weapons will lead only to more sanctions and to perpetual instability on the peninsula."

Canada and the U.S. are cohosting the one-day meeting, which was called in response to concerns about North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic-missile capabilities.

The purpose, said U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, was to increase the "maximum-pressure campaign" on North Korea by clamping down on its efforts to evade sanctions through smuggling and other illicit activity.

Tillerson was expected to push participating countries, all of whom were invited because of their support for South Korea during the Korean War, to help stop North Korean smuggling by sea.

Yet he also delivered a warning to China and Russia, neither of which were invited to participate in the Vancouver meeting, and both of which have been accused of helping Kim Jong Un's regime skirt international sanctions.

"We all must insist on a full enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions, as this is the letter of law. We especially urge Russia and China in this matter," Tillerson said.

"Full implementation is an essential measure for the security of their people, and a clear indication of their willingness to honour their international commitments. We cannot abide lapses or sanctions evasions."

The North Koreans recently reached out to their South Korean brethren for the first time in years and will participate in next month's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, a development welcomed by Freeland and several other leaders.
A meeting of senior officials from countries that backed South Korea in the Korean War begins today in Vancouver which will look at ways to better implement sanctions to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons. China and Russia, which backed the North in the war but have since agreed to U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, will not be attending the meeting.