VANCOUVER: Foreign ministers from 20 nations began crisis talks Monday on North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs, though China’s absence cast doubt over the effectiveness of any deal, reports AFP.

The two-day Vancouver meeting hosted by Canada and the United States comes amid signs of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula, after the North and South met for the first time in two years and Pyongyang agreed to sent athletes to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Meanwhile, China yesterday dismissed an international meeting on the North Korean nuclear crisis hosted by Canada and the United States as illegitimate, as major players like Beijing were not present.

The absence of Russia and China from the two days of talks in Vancouver, which began on Monday, shows the holes in Washington’s bid to form a unified global front against North Korea’s nuclear threat.

“The most important relevant parties of the Korean peninsula issue haven’t taken part in the meeting so I don’t think the meeting is legal or representative,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

Lu denounced the “Cold War mentality” of “relevant parties”—without naming nations.

China, which is North Korea’s main economic and diplomatic ally, has criticised the Vancouver talks and called for sanctions discussions to remain within the United Nations framework. And tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, which claimed it had successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the United States, appear to have calmed as well.

But the United States, which will review with allies at the summit the effectiveness of current sanctions against the hermit kingdom and explore adding more, remains skeptical that Kim is ready to negotiate away North Korea’s weapons program.