With North Korea's burgeoning nuclear programme, unbridled missile tests, and Unites States' threats of military action, a highly-plausible prospect of a nuclear war looms across the world. Kim Jong-Un ruled North Korea on Sunday claimed it had successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb, which possibly triggered a 6.3-magnitude artificial earthquake.
Pyongyang's announcement was meted with severe verbal backlash from across the world, with countries like the US and Japan demanding even stricter sanctions from the United Nations (UN) against the North, in an effort to cripple its economy, thereby forcing the nation to curb its missile tests.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that North Korea's Kim Jong-un was "begging for war" and urged the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC) to impose the "strongest possible" sanctions to deter him.
Meanwhile, South Korea -- the nearest nation to Pyongyang -- sensing an impending war, has begun conducting a live-fire training exercise in a show of force, simulating an attack on a nuclear site in North after Pyongyang's hydrogen bomb test.
Sanctions against North Korea not working
However, this approach of increased sanctions and threats of military actions against North Korea does not seem to be working so far in resolving the impasse in the Korean Peninsula. The heightened sanctions have only made Kim's regime even more belligerent in showing its force than before.
It appears that North Korea -- which has been isolated by the world - feels increasingly threatened by joint military drills from the US, Japan and South Korea, spurring it to hasten its nuclear programme development in an attempt for Kim to safeguard his regime.
While China is mostly playing a mute role in its effort to solve the crisis, Russia ironically appears to be the sole country at present with a different approach from others: a peaceful diplomatic path.
Peaceful diplomatic path only way to solve Korean impasse?
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea would be counterproductive and that threats of a military action against the nation could trigger "a global catastrophe."
Speaking at the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, China, Putin also criticised American diplomacy in the crisis and renewed his call for talks, saying North Korea would not halt its missile testing programme until it felt secure.
"Russia condemns North Korea's exercises; we consider that they are a provocation ... [But] ramping up military hysteria will lead to nothing good. It could lead to a global catastrophe," Putin said.
"There's no other path apart from a peaceful one," he added.
While describing additional sanctions as "the road to nowhere", Putin said Russia was prepared to discuss "some details" around the issue, without elaborating.
While South Korea is preparing to battle North Korea, several geopolitical experts have said that handling the Korean Peninsula crisis through diplomacy is the only safe bet.
Professor Georgy Toloraya — a Russian diplomat and an expert in Asian studies — told Russia Today that if the situation in East Asia is not resolved, various countries "will be living under a threat of a nuclear volcano erupting." These countries include Japan, China, Russia and the United States.
Retaliatory strike from North could turn S Korea into a desert
"Everyone understands perfectly well that for North Korea, if it initiates an aggressive strike, a military conflict will mean a complete and immediate destruction, because no one can deny the US military might," Toloraya said.
He also added that if the US tries to solve the problem with its military, it could prompt a retaliatory strike by North Korea that would "turn South Korea into a desert."
Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, has time and again joined China in calling for negotiations with North Korea. The countries have suggested that the US and South Korea halt all major war games in exchange for North Korea halting its testing programme.
