MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Tuesday called for restraint following a sharp escalation in tensions after North Korea blew up a liaison office near its border with South Korea.
"This is a concern, we urge all parties to show restraint," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that Russia would be closely monitoring the situation.
The Kremlin, an ally of the Stalinist regime, was not planning any talks at the highest level for the moment, he said.
After days of increasingly virulent rhetoric from Pyongyang, North Korea blew up an inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border on Tuesday.
The demolition came after Kim Yo Jong -- the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- said over the weekend that the "useless north-south joint liaison office" would soon be seen "completely collapsed".
Analysts say Pyongyang may be seeking to manufacture a crisis to increase pressure on Seoul while nuclear talks with Washington are at a standstill.