Vancouver Meeting on DPRK: Top diplomats from 20 countries to attend meeting

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Top diplomats from about 20 countries - including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha, are gathering in Vancouver, Canada. The meeting aims to curb the DPRK's weapons programs. But critics say the absence of some key players threatens to undermine the meeting. CGTN's Roee Ruttenberg has more from Vancouver.

This was the scene in Hawaii just days ago. A warning of an incoming missile causing widespread panic across the island state. In the end, it was a false alarm. But residents and tourists say: the fear was very real.

And for some, a reminder of the possible threat just across the Pacific. In recent months, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, has defiantly test-fired more and more missiles. It's leader, Kim Jong Un making clear: he would strike the U.S. if provoked.

The American President Donald Trump has made containing the DPRK a top priority, pressing Beijing to press Pyongyang. But Trump has warned: the U.S. would attack if necessary.

Last week, a suggestion that diplomacy may have a chance -- as representatives from South Korea and the north met for the first time in two years.

And this week, in Canada, more than a dozen diplomats are gathering at a conference co-hosted by the U.S.. The participants largely representing so-called "Sending States" countries that sent forces in support of the South's fight against Pyongyang during the Korean War in the 1950s.

CHRYSTIA FREELAND CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER "We will use this gathering as an opportunity to advance our work on diplomatic efforts towards a more peaceful, prosperous and nuclear-free future of the North Korean peninsula and to demonstrate international solidarity in our condemnation of North Korea's actions."

REX TILLERSON U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE "We will not accept you as a nuclear nation -- a nuclear weapons nation -- and then all of us share one policy and one goal, and then I urge the full complete verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, said: the Vancouver Conference is about sending a unified message from the international community. But noticeably absent from this week's gathering will be Russia and China. Both border the DPRK. And both have veto power on the UN Security Council.

For its part, Beijing refused to confirm if it was even asked to attend.

LU KANG CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN "Whether Canada has invited us or not is not important. In a context that all relevant parties are proactively discussing how to properly handle the Korean Peninsula issue, it is strange that some relevant parties are using Cold War approaches. So from the beginning, China believes such a meeting is meaningless and we are resolutely opposed to it."

China favors the UN Security Council and the Six-Party talks which include Pyongyang and Seoul. Beijing hosted the talks until they broke down nearly a decade ago.

ROEE RUTTENBERG VANCOUVER, CANADA The Canadians and Americans announced this conference would take place back in December, albeit with some disagreement about the invite list. But critics, including Japan, which is attending, say the approach may not be relevant -- if the relevant players aren't here. The burden now is on the hosts to prove otherwise. Roee Ruttenberg, CGTN, in Vancouver.