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Global Geopolitical Series: Uninviting China and Russia at Vancouver summit makes North Korea peace talks difficult

Finding a solution to the North Korean missile program and nuclear weapons advancement will be difficult to achieve if not impossible without cooperation from Russia, and China; North Korea’s two biggest allies, two immediate neighbors, and two most trusted countries. However, that is not stopping the United States and Canada from hosting a global summit in Vancouver to discuss the North Korean issue. The summit is being called “Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula”. The meeting, held January 15-17, seeks to achieve the goal of a “secure, prosperous and denuclearized Korean peninsula,” according to its organizers.

The foreign ministers and related delegations from 20 countries are participating in the Summit. Here is the list of countries,

  • Canada (Co-Chair), United States (Co-Chair), Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom

Though there were no official invitations, Moscow and Beijing, which do not belong to Vancouver group of countries officials, were welcomed to attend the end of the meeting to check out its results. The proposal was turned down and criticized by both Russia and China. Both of these countries are likely to get briefed on the outcome despite their absence.

Russia and China have repeatedly urged all the parties involved in the Korean crisis to abstain from hostile moves and engage in meaningful dialogue instead. Moscow and Beijing put forward a “double freeze” plan, which envisaged Pyongyang suspending its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for the US and its allies halting military exercises in the region. The initiative, however, was rebuffed by Washington.

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