Russian foreign ministry 'working behind scenes' to resolve North Korea crisis - RIA

A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A conflict on the Korean peninsula would have "catastrophic consequences", and Russia's foreign ministry is working "behind the scenes" on finding a political solution to the North Korea crisis, the RIA news agency cited a senior Russian diplomat as saying on Tuesday.

Cited by RIA, Mikhail Ulyanov, the head of the non-proliferation and arms controls department at Russia's foreign ministry, also said the U.S. approach to North Korea was a dead end and the tool of sanctions against the North had almost been exhausted.