Now President Obama is trying to impose more sanctions on North Korea which clearly doesn't work, the expert argued.
"Since the beginning of the North Korean war, North Korea has been under sanctions, and nothing has changed," Petrov told Sputnik. "The so called policy of patience or neglect just didn't work. I think the alternative is to start talking," the expert added.
Last week, North Korea confirmed that it had carried out a nuclear test in the country's northeast. The blast is believed to be the fifth and largest since Pyongyang began pursuing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, drawing condemnation from the international community.
"More sanctions on top of already existing sanctions is a road to nowhere. Rather than punishing North Korea, I think it is time to talk to North Korea; sit down and negotiate some conditions under which North Korea could have frozen this nuclear program. This is something that the Clinton administration did in 1994. It worked pretty well until the Bush administration decided to punish North Korea for some apparent violations of the framework agreement," Petrov stated.
In response to a question on what the international community could do to resolve the issue, Petrov stated: "I believe that the international community could simply resume negotiations, talk about — well, if not recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state,we understand that it would be a violation of the non-proliferation regime, — but at least to look at North Korea seriously, and stop denying its existence."
