U.S. meets allies, seeks pressure on N. Korea

Tillerson calls for end to illicit trade with rogue nation.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Tuesday for nations to step up the U.S.-led “maximum pressure” campaign against North Korea by thwarting sanctions evasion and interdicting ships conducting illicit trade with the pariah nation.

The uncompromising message delivered to a gathering of 20 nations that were on America’s side during the Korean War came despite the recent diplomatic opening between the rival Koreas after a year of escalating tension.

“We must increase the costs of the regime’s behavior to the point that North Korea must come to the table for credible negotiations,” Tillerson said in his opening remarks at the meeting on Canada’s western coast. The meeting convened days after a mistaken missile alert caused panic on Hawaii, a stark reminder of the fears of conflict with the North.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said its talks with North Korea, leading to its participation in next month’s Olympics being hosted by the South, are a “significant first step toward restoring inter-Korean relations.”

But she conceded that despite the overtures, North Korea has yet to show any intention to fulfill its obligations on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono was blunter. He said the North “wants to buy some time to continue their nuclear and missile programs.”

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters that in spite of the inter-Korean talks, “the North Korean regime is still going down the path of the acquisition of an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) tipped with a nuclear device that could have incalculable geostrategic consequences.”

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. Officials are discussing sanctions, preventing the spread of weapons by North Korea, and diplomacy. The gathering, co-hosted by Canada and the U.S., is strongly opposed by China and Russia, which fought on the communist side in the war. It appears primarily symbolic and unlikely to break much new ground. Although Tillerson said the meeting sends North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a unified message that a nuclear-armed North is unacceptable, it risks alienating Beijing and Moscow.

They are Pyongyang’s main trading and diplomatic partners, but have nevertheless supported U.N. Security Council resolutions to restrict revenue for North Korean nuclear and missile development.

Tillerson reiterated U.S. opposition to their idea of a “freeze-for-freeze,” whereby the U.S.-South Korea military exercises would halt in exchange for suspension of the North’s nuclear programs. According to the news agency Tass, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called the Vancouver meeting “unacceptable” and “destructive.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters a meeting that “doesn’t include important parties to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue” cannot help resolve it.

Tillerson said all nations must work together to improve maritime interdiction operations and stop illicit ship-to-ship transfers that violate U.N. sanctions. The U.S. has previously highlighted efforts by North Korea to circumvent restrictions on supplies of oil and petroleum products, most of which are supplied by China.

The latest U.N. Security Council resolution, adopted in December in response to an intercontinental ballistic missile test, calls on member states to impound vessels in their ports if there are reasonable grounds to suspect illicit trade with North Korea.