Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said North Korea must be given security guarantees in exchange for steps towards denuclearisation.

"North Korea, in return for its denuclearisation, was after all promised security guarantees. Clearly it is waiting for some sort of signal in response," Putin told an economic forum in the far eastern city of Vladivostok. "It seems to me counterproductive if we demand everything from the North Korean side and in response they are given nothing," he said at an event with China's Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe.