MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - The UN Security Council should be cautious in imposing sanctions against North Korea in connection with the recent nuclear tests, the speaker of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament said on Monday.
The UN Security Council on Friday toughened existing sanctions against North Korea and imposed new ones following Pyongyang's nuclear test on May 25.
"North Korea should not be cornered by sanctions, because the response could be explosive for everybody," Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov told RIA Novosti.
He added that sanctions imposed on North Korea should be an appropriate response to its nuclear tests.
"Russia, of course, will not just sit and watch nuclear bombs exploding several hundreds of kilometers from [Russia's major Far Eastern city of] Vladivostok," Mironov said.
All 15 Council members voted for Resolution 1874, which expands the arms embargo and allows searches of North Korean ships on high seas, but does not authorize use of force.
North Korea said on Saturday it would respond with war to attempts by the United States and its allies to isolate the country, and that it would start enriching uranium and using plutonium for military purposes.
