Putin also said that dialogue with North Korea was warranted, and that Kim now wanted to calm the situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was “shrewd and mature” and had won the latest standoff with the West over his nuclear and missile programs.
“I think that Mr. Kim Jong Un has obviously won this round. He has completed his strategic task: he has a nuclear weapon, he has missiles of global reach, up to 13,000 km, which can reach almost any point of the globe,” Putin told Russian journalists at a televised meeting.
Russia has voted at the United Nations in favor of international sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, while urging the West to show restraint and calling for talks over the issue.
