North Korea is facing a new warning to change its behaviour or face more sanctions.The threat was delivered by Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chyrstia Freeland as she opened today’s summit on stability and security in the Korean Peninsula.
Freeland and Tillerson are among the foreign ministers and diplomats from 20 countries who have gathered on Canada’s West Coast to discuss paths to diplomacy.
She said, “Investing in nuclear weapons will lead only to more sanctions and to perpetual instability on the peninsula.The pursuit of nuclearization will bring you neither security nor prosperity.”
The message was echoed by allies around the room, including U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is co-host of today’s meeting.
Tillerson said, “The pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes decisive steps to denuclearize.”
“This is a strategy that has and will require patience, but thanks to everyone’s support at this table, and around the world, the regime is already facing costs that it is having difficulty bearing.”
Partners around the table welcomed the recent reopening of talks between North Korea and South Korea, and the North’s participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
After nearly two years of silence, officials from both countries sat down for 11 hours of discussions earlier this month.
South Korea’s foreign minister described today’s talks as “rather productive and positive.”
But Japan’s foreign minister said the world would be “naive” to assume Kim Jong-un’s regime agreed to open talks with good intentions.
