Russia , China Oppose Tougher North Korea Sanctions

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Russia and China say steps to further tighten sanctions against North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear test would do little to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The two also warned about the dangers of military intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday said tougher sanctions were senseless and would not change the leadership in Pyongyang. Such moves, Putin said, would lead to large-scale human suffering. Putin also warned of a “global catastrophe” if what he called military hysteria around North Korea continues to increase. Putin spoke to reporters in Xiamen, China at the conclusion of a leaders' summit of the BRICS group of five major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

On Sunday, just as the BRICS meeting was beginning in the Chinese southeastern coastal city, North Korea carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Leaders attending the meeting condemned the test, but Beijing moved quickly to keep it from taking attention away from the meeting.

While there are concerns in China’s northeast about the leakage of radiation and the impact of the test – which was felt in Chinese provinces along the North's border - Chinese state media have focused heavily on the BRICS summit in recent days.

The most recent round of sanctions is not only having an impact on North Korea, but on business in China’s northeast. China shares a 1,400-plus-kilometer border with North Korea and is the isolated country’s biggest trading partner.

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not mention the topic when he briefed journalists at the end of the BRICS summit. He also did not take questions.