Putin urges caution in dealing with North Korea

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http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Putin_urges_caution_in_dealing_with_North_Korea.html?siteSect=143&sid=7194080&cKey=1161781656000

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea should not be backed into a corner over its nuclear test if the global community wants to resolve the crisis over the North's atomic ambitions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Hours later, North Korea said any participation by South Korea in U.S.-led sanctions would be seen as a serious provocation leading to a "crisis of war" on the Korean peninsula.

Asia-Pacific powers are trying to pin down the details of U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea for its October 9 test that Pyongyang blamed on Wednesday on U.S. "double standards" on nuclear issues.

Putin, referring to six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programme, said one of the reasons Pyongyang had resorted to conducting the test was that "not all participants in negotiations were able to find the correct tone..."