Opinions vary on the effectiveness of the North Korean summit

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The road to peace on the Korean Peninsula is not an easy one according to international relations experts.

Dr. Andre Gerolymatos with Simon Fraser University says getting China and Russia to enforce the sanctions that are in place against North Korea is a difficult task, but Canada can play a big role.

“China is very distrustful of the United States and Canada is seen as an honest broker. We have no particular interest in Asia other than trade. So this is where Prime Minister Trudeau can play a very big part.”

He says now the goal will be to sit down and begin negotiations with the isolated nation, but that will be difficult because the US will want the North to back away from their nuclear ambitions before the talks even start, a non-starter for Kim Jong Un.

Gerolymatos says Canada doesn’t have to have those demands to get the North to the table.

Meanwhile, a group of women who had called on foreign ministers to take a diplomatic, peaceful approach to the North Korea situation says they are gravely disappointed by what’s come out of the summit.

Christine Ahn with Women Cross DMZ says Canada is just following in the footsteps of the Trump administration.

Instead of preparing for dialogue, she says, foreign ministers are obstructing the path to peace being laid out by South and North Korea.

“And all we heard was more of the same, which is maximum pressure to get North Korea to the table to talk, well it’s basically pointing a gun to North Korea’s head.”

She says sanctions are not the answer.

“This is a policy that has been in place for 70 years, isolating North Korea and imposing economic sanctions on that country, so basically North Korea has withstood a lot of that pressure.”

She says continued sanctions will have a damaging effect on the people of North Korea.

Approaches that would be more effective, according to Ahn, include extending a truce to North Korea or showing a willingness to talk with the country.

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