An unnamed security source in Russia says the nation is taking “precautionary” security measures over the possibility that the tense situation in North Korea could escalate into a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, imperiling Russia’s far eastern regions.

Another official in the Russian Foreign Ministry was quoted as believing that the “war of nerves,” which he described as “dangerous brinkmanship,” would likely not lead to an actual shooting war. Russia condemned North Korea’s atomic weapons test but has cautioned against a hasty international reaction.

North Korea has cautioned its neighbor to the south that it considers participation in a US-led program to intercept ships tantamount to a declaration of war, and has threatened “immediate, strong military measures” if the South actually tries to stop and search any North Korean ships.

Russia has estimated that the North Korean atomic weapon was on the scale of the US weapons used against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 2. The North has also conducted missile tests and reportedly has restarted the Yongbyon nuclear plant.

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