Outcome of military strike against North Korea would be uncertain: Putin

Moscow [Russia], October 5 (ANI): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the global military strike against North Korea to destroy its nuclear and missile programme might not succeed, because no one knows, where the military facilities are hidden.

"Let us speak to the point, after all - Can a global strike against North Korea be launched to disarm it? Yes. Will it achieve its aim? We don't know. Who knows what they have there and where. Nobody knows with 100 per cent certainty as it's a closed country," Putin said, while addressing the 2017 International Forum on Energy Efficiency on Wednesday.

"There is no 100 per cent knowledge about North Korea as it is a closed country,"Putin added.

Referring to the ongoing coercive rhetoric against Pyongyang by United States President Donald Trump, Putin said coercive rhetoric against Pyongyang and attempts "to speak from a position of strength" only give more power to the North Korean leadership.

As tensions on the Korean Peninsula run high, Moscow and Beijing have consistently called on Washington and Pyongyang to pave the way for direct talks.

Reiterating to follow diplomacy by engaging in dialogue, Putin said, "All sides must ease rhetoric and find ways for face-to-face dialogue between the United States and North Korea, as well as between North Korea and countries in the region."

"Only this would help find balanced and reasonable decisions, at any rate. It is not my cup of tea to define and assess policies of the United States President," Putin added.

The president stated that Russia cannot remain mute to the Korean crisis as it has a border with North Korea.

"We have a shared border and the Korean nuclear testing range lies 200 km away from the Russian border," he added. (ANI)