Canada pledges solidarity with S. Korea over handling N. Korean nukes

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- The top Canadian diplomat has pledged her country's solidarity with South Korea in dealing with North Korean nuclear issues as Canada co-hosts a meeting of foreign ministers from countries that fought for the South in the Korean War, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland met in Vancouver on Monday on the sidelines of the so-called Vancouver meeting that Canada is co-hosting with the United States on Monday and Tuesday.

The meeting has brought together top diplomats from countries that sent troops to the South Korean side during the 1950-53 civil war, plus those from Japan, India and Sweden. The U.S. has said the meeting is designed to boost the effect of international sanctions on North Korea.

Kang told the Canadian counterpart that the Vancouver meeting is an opportune chance to send out a message of international solidarity toward a peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and peace building on the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean minister also communicated the results of the recent high-level inter-Korean talks to Freeland, stressing that any progress in inter-Korean ties would not deviate from the international efforts to denuclearize the North, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Canadian foreign minister voiced her support for South Korea's pursuit of a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the nuclear issue and said Canada would take advantage of the Vancouver meeting to express its solidarity with South Korea, the ministry also said.

They also pledged joint efforts for South Korea's successful hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

pbr@yna.co.kr
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