MOSCOW, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said some states provoked North Korea's nuclear test by cornering the regime in Pyongyang.
Some participants of the so-called six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program had missed the "right tone" in dealing with Pyongyang and pressured the country into a corner, Putin said Wednesday on Russian state television while addressing questions from his fellow countrymen.
"One shouldn't have forced North Korea into a situation in which the only way out was an aggravation of the conflict," German online daily Netzeitung quoted Putin as saying, in what observers call a criticism of U.S. policy.
At the same time, however, Putin denounced the nuclear test.
The United Nations called North Korea's Oct. 9 nuclear test a "clear threat to international peace and security." Less than a week later, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose financial and weapons sanctions on North Korea.
