Sanctions will never make North Korea give up its nuclear programme, warns Putin

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said on Tuesday that US-led calls for harsher sanctions on North Korea were futile and warned that military escalation could lead to a global catastrophe, arguing that Pyongyang rightfully fears for its security. Mr Putin called North Korea's nuclear test on Sunday “provocative” but said Kim Jong-un “definitely won't forget” the US-led military actions in Libya and Iraq. Saddam Hussein gave up his weapons of mass destruction only to