Merkel plans phone call with Putin in N. Korea: spokesman

BERLIN - 11 Sep 2017: Chancellor Angela Merkel plans to discuss the crisis in North Korea in a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday.

Seibert said Merkel had already discussed the issue with other leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and a call was also planned with Putin.

Seibert said Germany remained ready to support discussions about ways to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, noting that Berlin was one of few countries with diplomatic ties to North Korea.

"That is why we have offered to be helpful in the search for new ways to deescalate the situation," he told a government news conference.