In an apparant swipe at President Donald Trump, the Russian leader condemned Kim Jong-un’s recent nuclear tests, but said it was wrong to “fall in to outright insolence” when dealing with the rogue state.
And Mr Putin went on to accuse the United States of “selfishness” in failing to cooperate with Russia on global issues, as well as claiming Washington had repeatedly failed to fulfil its obligations under international nuclear and chemical weapons treaties.
Mr Trump has been engaged in a long-running war of words with despot Kim, and recently mocked him as “little rocket man” before threatening to “totally destroy” the hermit state if it dared attack the US or one of its allies.
In response, Kim referred to Mr Trump “a mentally deranged dotard” and warned he would “pay dearly” for his threats.
Addressing academics and reporters at the Valdai discussion group this afternoon, Mr Putin said: “We condemn the nuclear tests carried out by North Korea.
“But it is absolutely necessary to resolve this problem through dialogue and not drive North Korea into a corner, threatening it with the use of force, and not to fall into outright insolence.”
He also called for a “gradual” reform of the United Nations.
Kim’s regime has shown no signs of stopping in its pursuit of more powerful nuclear weapons, and the long-range missile technology needed to get them to their targets.
More to follow…