Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for talks with North Korea, saying sanctions are not a solution to the country’s nuclear and missile development.

Putin spoke after meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Vladivostok, Russia, on the sidelines of a conference on economic development of Russia’s Far East.

North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sunday, saying it had detonated a hydrogen bomb.

Moon said ahead of his meeting with Putin that the situation could get out of hand if North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests aren’t stopped.

Putin, speaking in China on Tuesday, condemned the latest nuclear test as provocative, but said that Russia views sanctions on North Korea as “useless and ineffective.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will meet Putin in Vladivostok on Thursday, said before his departure from Japan that “we must make North Korea understand there is no bright future for the country if it pursues the current path.”

Source: AP