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>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.</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>Washington (CNN) The United States and Canada will co-host an international summit on the North Korean nuclear threat in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, as tensions on the Korean Peninsula settle into a steady simmer while direct talks between the north and the south continue.

The summit comes at a critical time. But with diplomats' attentions absorbed by the delicate talks between the two neighboring countries -- which were initially focused on North Korea's participation in the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics but have since broadened -- some analysts are skeptical that much will come out of the Vancouver meetings.

"I'm sure, given the circumstances on the peninsula right now, that the attendees to that meeting will be very careful about what they say publicly," Joel Wit, of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told reporters last week, "because I think most of them there would not want to 'upset the apple cart' in any way."

"I think whatever they do, whatever they say," said Wit, "it's going to be supportive of what the South Korean government is trying to achieve."

Still, the Trump administration is optimistic it can use Tuesday's discussions to advance its so-called "peaceful pressure" or "maximum pressure" campaign, which it believes is partly responsible for North Korea's willingness to resume conversations with South Korea.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will participate in the summit.

Tillerson's efforts on North Korea have, at times, been complicated by bellicose rhetoric from his boss, President Donald Trump.

In a news briefing on Thursday, the State Department's director of policy planning, Brian Hook, told reporters that North Korea is "starting to feel the bite" from the campaign, adding, "we think that this creates the kind of conditions that led to discussions between the North and the South about the Olympics."

Negotiators from the two countries met again at the demilitarized zone Monday and agreed to further talks.

"We are going to be at this Vancouver ministerial doing an assessment of progress to date," said Hook. "We'll be discussing sanctions -- the sanctions that we have done multilaterally and unilaterally to date -- and their effectiveness, and what we can be doing in the coming year."

The United States and Canada will be joined at the summit by a group of 18 nations including South Korea and Japan.

But North Korea's largest trading partner, China, will not be participating.

"We will give them a readout of this ministerial after it's over," said Hook, "and we have been in discussions with the Chinese and the Russians leading up to this Vancouver ministerial."

"The scope of this, I think, is going to be really limited to reinforcing the UN Security Council's resolutions on the North Korean nuclear issue," says Frank Jannuzi, president and CEO of the Mansfield Foundation, which promotes US-Asian relations, "which means that the main emphasis will be on ensuring solidarity, strict sanctions enforcement."

But the forum's limited guest list could also offer an opportunity for the United States' partners to nudge the Trump administration, at least privately, toward expanding direct talks with the North Korean regime on the nuclear issue, he noted.

In an interview last week with the Wall Street Journal, Trump seemed to signal he was open to more engagement with Pyongyang, saying, "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un."

"I think that the European powers might be emboldened a little bit (by that) to go ahead and push," Jannuzi suggested to CNN.

Neither Trump nor his White House would clarify whether the President had spoken with the North Korean leader, who he has repeatedly called "Little Rocket Man," although Trump told reporters Sunday that he had been misquoted in the interview.

But China won't be there

One area where diplomats hope to make progress Tuesday is with maritime interdiction: efforts to disrupt the flow of smuggled goods into North Korea in violation of the UN sanctions regime.

"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," Hook told reporters, adding that talks would also address ways to disrupt financial transfers to the country.

But without China's participation, critics worry the talks will be fruitless. China has been singled out for criticism by the United States, which says Beijing is not doing enough to crack down on sanctions evaders and that it has allowed the transfer of banned oil.

"Caught RED HANDED," Trump tweeted in December, "very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"

In his briefing last week, Hook said China was making progress on the issue.

"We've been very pleased that China has certainly given much fuller implementation," he said. "I think they have closed some sanctions gaps."

Jannuzi says the chances for additional action on the interdiction issue are "slim to zero," unless North Korea resumes its provocative behavior.

"I don't see any hope for the US to get support for the idea of boarding ships at sea," he told CNN last week. "The UN Security Council went as far as they were willing to go, with Chinese and Russian support, to allow nations to board ships in port, to inspect them and make sure they're complying with the UN sanctions regime."</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 -- 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>Kono said it was “naïve” to read too much into the North’s sudden decision to reopen talks with South Korea. Pyongyang, he said, was merely trying to drive a wedge between South Korea and its allies.

In fact, both U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono lauded countries that have broken off diplomatic relations with the North, urging more to do the same.

But in opening remarks by key foreign ministers from the 20 countries invited to Vancouver to deal with the crisis over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons, there was little talk of diplomacy.

The summit, co-hosted by Canada and the U.S., was billed as an attempt to reinject diplomacy into a situation that is becoming increasingly dangerous.

Tuesday’s Vancouver summit on North Korea underscores how impossibly difficult the standoff between Washington and Pyongyang has become.

I say odd because the guest list made little practical sense. Belgium and Denmark were invited but not China and Russia — both of which have leverage over North Korea.

And that’s what this odd summit was about — pressure.

Even South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who lauded her country’s talks with the North as “positive,” insisted that unrelenting pressure on Pyongyang must continue.

Most nations that contributed troops to the South’s side in the 1950-53 Korean War were represented in Vancouver, including Colombia and Greece. But Ethiopia, which had suffered 657 casualties in that war, was not.

Exactly why summit organizers thought it useful to revive even a portion of the old anti-Pyongyang Korean War alliance was never spelled out. But the general idea, it seems, was to convince as many nations as possible of the need to fully implement tough United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

A fully implemented sanctions regime, Tillerson said, could persuade the North to abandon its nuclear program.

His unspoken corollary was that if sanctions don’t work, the U.S. will use military force to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weaponry.

To bolster sanctions, the U.S. is encouraging maritime nations to interdict ships believed to be carrying banned materials, such as fuel oil, to North Korea.

This is a tricky business. The latest UN Security Council resolution on North Korea permits any nation to stop, search and seize vessels believed to be carrying contraband — as long as they are in the seizing nation’s territorial waters.

But it does not authorize search and seizure on the high seas. That is, it does not authorize a full-scale naval blockade, which North Korea could legitimately call an act of war.

Last month, South Korea impounded two ships believed to have transported contraband fuel oil to North Korea. But it did so only after they had docked in South Korean ports.

A confrontation in international waters would have been considerably more provocative.

All of which is to say that the options open to those who would avoid war on the Korean Peninsula are not easy.

All agree that a negotiated solution is best. But the Americans will talk to the North only if it agrees to abandon its nuclear ambitions. And the North, mindful of what happened to other states that surrendered their weapons of mass destruction, will not do that.

Economic sanctions designed to force North Korea’s compliance represent the second-best solution. But they work only if stringently applied. And truly stringent measures, such as a full-scale naval blockade, risk igniting the war the sanctions are designed to avoid.

In the end, only artful diplomacy of the sort that produced the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement can find a way past this logjam. The Vancouver summit was billed as a start along this road. It is not at all clear that it succeeded.</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>Washington (CNN) The United States and Canada will co-host an international summit on the North Korean nuclear threat in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, as tensions on the Korean Peninsula settle into a steady simmer while direct talks between the north and the south continue.

The summit comes at a critical time. But with diplomats' attentions absorbed by the delicate talks between the two neighboring countries -- which were initially focused on North Korea's participation in the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics but have since broadened -- some analysts are skeptical that much will come out of the Vancouver meetings.

"I'm sure, given the circumstances on the peninsula right now, that the attendees to that meeting will be very careful about what they say publicly," Joel Wit, of the US-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, told reporters last week, "because I think most of them there would not want to 'upset the apple cart' in any way."

"I think whatever they do, whatever they say," said Wit, "it's going to be supportive of what the South Korean government is trying to achieve."

Still, the Trump administration is optimistic it can use Tuesday's discussions to advance its so-called "peaceful pressure" or "maximum pressure" campaign, which it believes is partly responsible for North Korea's willingness to resume conversations with South Korea.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will participate in the summit.

Tillerson's efforts on North Korea have, at times, been complicated by bellicose rhetoric from his boss, President Donald Trump.

In a news briefing on Thursday, the State Department's director of policy planning, Brian Hook, told reporters that North Korea is "starting to feel the bite" from the campaign, adding, "we think that this creates the kind of conditions that led to discussions between the North and the South about the Olympics."

Negotiators from the two countries met again at the demilitarized zone Monday and agreed to further talks.

"We are going to be at this Vancouver ministerial doing an assessment of progress to date," said Hook. "We'll be discussing sanctions -- the sanctions that we have done multilaterally and unilaterally to date -- and their effectiveness, and what we can be doing in the coming year."

The United States and Canada will be joined at the summit by a group of 18 nations including South Korea and Japan.

But North Korea's largest trading partner, China, will not be participating.

"We will give them a readout of this ministerial after it's over," said Hook, "and we have been in discussions with the Chinese and the Russians leading up to this Vancouver ministerial."

"The scope of this, I think, is going to be really limited to reinforcing the UN Security Council's resolutions on the North Korean nuclear issue," says Frank Jannuzi, president and CEO of the Mansfield Foundation, which promotes US-Asian relations, "which means that the main emphasis will be on ensuring solidarity, strict sanctions enforcement."

But the forum's limited guest list could also offer an opportunity for the United States' partners to nudge the Trump administration, at least privately, toward expanding direct talks with the North Korean regime on the nuclear issue, he noted.

In an interview last week with the Wall Street Journal, Trump seemed to signal he was open to more engagement with Pyongyang, saying, "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un."

"I think that the European powers might be emboldened a little bit (by that) to go ahead and push," Jannuzi suggested to CNN.

Neither Trump nor his White House would clarify whether the President had spoken with the North Korean leader, who he has repeatedly called "Little Rocket Man," although Trump told reporters Sunday that he had been misquoted in the interview.

But China won't be there

One area where diplomats hope to make progress Tuesday is with maritime interdiction: efforts to disrupt the flow of smuggled goods into North Korea in violation of the UN sanctions regime.

"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," Hook told reporters, adding that talks would also address ways to disrupt financial transfers to the country.

But without China's participation, critics worry the talks will be fruitless. China has been singled out for criticism by the United States, which says Beijing is not doing enough to crack down on sanctions evaders and that it has allowed the transfer of banned oil.

"Caught RED HANDED," Trump tweeted in December, "very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"

In his briefing last week, Hook said China was making progress on the issue.

"We've been very pleased that China has certainly given much fuller implementation," he said. "I think they have closed some sanctions gaps."

Jannuzi says the chances for additional action on the interdiction issue are "slim to zero," unless North Korea resumes its provocative behavior.

"I don't see any hope for the US to get support for the idea of boarding ships at sea," he told CNN last week. "The UN Security Council went as far as they were willing to go, with Chinese and Russian support, to allow nations to board ships in port, to inspect them and make sure they're complying with the UN sanctions regime."</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.
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.