Russia's Lavrov says 'creative' response to North Korea needed

GENEVA (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday the international community should find new ways to respond to North Korea's nuclear tests to defuse tensions, rather than just slapping more sanctions on the country. "The current situation shows that diplomats should be more creative than just responding by sanctions, sanctions and sanctions again on any aggravation of the situation," Lavrov told a news conference in Geneva. "It is too early to bury the six-party talks. We should look for ways that would allow us to resume them." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States had repeatedly offered talks to North Korea, but it had to accept de-nuclearisation, which it had refused to do. "We have made overture after overture to the dictator of North Korea," he said, adding that he ultimately hoped for a similar outcome as in the nuclear talks in Iran. (Reporting by Tom Miles and David Brunnstrom)