The United States and Canada will co-host an international summit on the North Korean nuclear threat on Tuesday.
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 October, for instance, Trump tweeted that « Rex is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man. »
The two men have endured a rocky relationship in recent months, though Tillerson asserted in a recent CNN interview that he’s learned to « better deal with » Trump, and plans to stay in his role at least through 2018.
In the same interview with CNN, Tillerson said that through his tweets, the President « has demonstrated to the world how high the stakes are. »
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.
