Putin says US should reward North Korea if it suspends tests

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow hopes a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un helps defuse tensions.

Putin said during an interview with Austrian public broadcaster ORF on Monday that the denuclearization of the North shouldn’t be “one-way road.” He said the United States should reward Pyongyang if it suspends nuclear and missile tests.

The Russian leader says Moscow has “big hopes” for the success of the meeting set for June 12. He noted that Russia, as a nation that shares a border with North Korea, is frightened by the prospect of a conflict.

Asked to comment on speculation that Putin might meet Kim at a regional security summit in China this weekend, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said no such meeting is planned.