Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today accused the United States of seeking to provoke North Korea into stepping up its nuclear missile programme. <br/><br/>He rejected a call by the American envoy to the UN Security Council to sever ties with the North after its latest ballistic missile test. <br/><br/>Russia argues sanctions do not work and advocates negotiations instead. The US has warned that North Korea's government will be utterly destroyed if war breaks out. <br/><br/>Yesterday, the North tested its first missile in two months, saying the continental US is now within striking distance.<br/>