UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on Thursday for the North Korean nuclear crisis to be handled in a stable manner, so that peace was not destroyed.

Moon told the U.N. General Assembly sanctions were needed to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table and force it to give up its nuclear weapons, but Seoul was not seeking North Korea’s collapse and the international community was ready to help the country if it stood on the right side of history.

In the meantime, Moon said all countries must strictly adhere to U.N. sanctions on North Korea and impose tougher steps in the event of new provocations by Pyongyang.