Anchor: North Korea is creating new pressure on the U.S. through its leader Kim Jong-un's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. With Putin hinting that Russia might intervene in the situation, North Korean media cited Kim as saying peace and security on the Korean Peninsula is now up to the U.S.' future attitude.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: 

[Nat sound: Putin-Kim summit (Vladivostok / Apr. 25)]

North Korea is seeking to corner the U.S. in the wake of the Moscow-Pyongyang talks in Vladivostok on Thursday. 

The North's state media on Friday cited Kim Jong-un as telling President Vladimir Putin that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached a critical point and may return to its original state. 

Kim was also quoted as saying that peace on the peninsula is now up to the U.S.' future attitude.

[Sound bite: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Russian)]
" ...the DPRK needs a guarantee of their safety, of the preservation of their sovereignty. And what guarantee could it be except the (restoration of) international law?"

With Kim reviving the Russia factor in the nuclear dialogue, Putin after the summit pointed to safety concerns for Pyongyang. He hinted Moscow may have to intervene.

[Sound bite: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Russian)]
"I don't know if this format (of the six-party talks) needs to be restored right now, but I am deeply convinced that if we come to a situation when some guarantees for one side -- in this case, the guarantees of DPRK safety -- need to be elaborated, we cannot do so without international guarantees." 

During a gala dinner, Kim also highlighted Russia's role in keeping his regime safe.

[Sound bite: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Korean)] 
" ...the ceaseless development of North Korea-Russia ties not only serves our mutual interests but is also indispensable for the region's securing peace and stability." 

The first Putin-Kim talks came as North Korea and the U.S. are struggling to narrow gaps in nuclear negotiations following the collapse of the Hanoi summit in February. 

While Kim and Putin want the U.S. to take incremental steps alongside North Korea's gradual denuclearization, the Trump administration is demanding the North undergo complete nuclear disarmament before U.S.-led UN sanctions are lifted. 

[Sound bite: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Russian)]
"A direct railway connection between the south of the Korean Peninsula and the north and Russia, with a connection with the Trans-Siberian railway, the possibility of laying pipelines - then we can talk about oil and gas, the possible construction of new (power) transmission lines.All this is possible (in cooperation with Russia)."  

During the first Russia-North Korea summit in eight years, Putin and Kim also discussed ways to improve their economic ties, most of which are currently prohibited by the U.S.-led UN sanctions on the North. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]