Putin warns of 'major conflict' over North Korea

"The problems in the region will only be solved via direct dialogue between all concerned parties, without preconditions," Putin said.

"Threats, pressure and insulting and militant rhetoric are a dead end," a statement from his office said, adding that heaping additional pressure on North Korea in a bid to curb its nuclear programme was "wrong and futile."

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after a series of missile tests by Pyongyang.

Early on Tuesday, the reclusive state fired an intermediate-range Hwasong-12 over Japan, prompting US President Donald Trump to insist that "all options" were on the table in an implied threat of pre-emptive military action.

The UN Security Council denounced North Korea's latest missile test, unanimously demanding that Pyongyang halt the programme.

US heavy bombers and stealth jet fighters took part in a joint live fire drill in South Korea on Thursday, intended as a show of force against the North, Seoul said.

Putin said he feared the peninsula was "on the verge of a major conflict" and called for all sides to sign up to a mediation programme drawn up by Moscow and Beijing.

He echoed comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who in a Wednesday telephone call with US counterpart Rex Tillerson "underscored... the need to refrain from any military steps that could have unpredictable consequences."

The Russia-China plan involves a mutual pause in missile tests by North Korea and joint South Korean-US military exercises by Seoul.

Meanwhile, the Spanish government has summoned North Korean Ambassador Kim Hyok Chol to inform him of its decision to reduce from three to two the number of diplomatic personnel allowed to represent Pyongyang in Madrid.

The move has come in response to the recent missile tests by the North Korean regime headed by Kim Jong-un, Efe news reported on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the Diplomatic Information Office, the Spanish Foreign Ministry reiterated to the envoy Spain's condemnation of the successive nuclear tests and the

launching of ballistic missiles by Pyongyang, particularly the latest such launch, which sent an ICBM over Japanese territory before it crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

The Spanish government called for "full, irreversible and verifiable denuclearization" of the North Korean arsenal, which — it said — makes the "serious risk of conflict"

more likely.

In addition, Madrid repeated that the nuclear tests and missile launches represent a "violation of relevant resolutions" by the UN Security Council.

"The nuclear and ballistic programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea undermine the nuclear non-proliferation regime and create a serious threat to peace in the region and for global security," Spanish authorities argued.

Madrid also noted that the North Korean Embassy had already been warned that continuing with such activities would bring consequences for bilateral relations.

Spain had condemned Pyongyang's launching of the ICBM that flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido on Monday and asked the North Korean regime to renounce "its challenge to the international community" and declare a moratorium on its nuclear and ballistic testing.