Turkey to attend North Korea summit in Vancouver in January

Serkan Demirtaş - ANKARA

Turkey will attend a special summit to be hosted by Canada and the United States in Vancouver on Jan. 16, focusing on the growing nuclear threat of North Korea.

The summit, which will take place at the foreign ministers level, is co-organized by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed his participation to the summit at a meeting with Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets on Jan. 3.

The summit aims to bring together the countries that fought together in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953, in order to discuss measures to be taken regarding the North Korean nuclear question and potential sanctions to be imposed on Pyongyang.

Along with the Turkish, Canadian and U.S. foreign ministers, top diplomats from South Korea, Japan, India, the U.K., France and other countries who fought in the Korean War are also expected to attend the summit.

A Turkish brigade served with the U.N. Command during the Korean War, attached to the U.S.’s 25th Infantry Division. Turkish troops fought on several fronts and were awarded Unit Citations from Korea and the United States after fighting in the Kunuri Battle.

Turkish participation to the war is seen as being at the root of a “special relationship” that subsequently developed between Ankara and Seoul.

Çavuşoğlu to visit Los Angeles

Ahead of the summit in Vancouver, Çavuşoğlu said he will also stop over in Los Angeles, where he will hold meetings with representatives of the Turkish community, civil society groups, and think tanks.