Warning of 'Planetary Catastrophe,' Putin Joins Calls for Diplomacy With North Korea

As tensions continue to flare following North Korea’s claim Sunday that it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb capable of being placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday joined urgent calls for deescalation and diplomacy, deeming the military option “a dead end.”

“The best option to stop North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are political talks.”
—Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action

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“Ramping up military hysteria in such conditions is senseless,” Putin told reporters at the end of the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China.

“It could lead to a global, planetary catastrophe and a huge loss of human life,” Putin concluded. “There is no other way to solve the North Korean nuclear issue, save that of peaceful dialogue.”

Putin went on to argue that U.S. interventions in Iraq and Libya have convinced Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, that nuclear weapons are a necessary deterrent.

The Russian president’s comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to insist that “all options are on the table” when it comes to North Korea—a position echoed by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, who warned Sunday of a “massive military response” if North Korea continues to threaten the U.S. and its allies.