More than 40 countries have accused North Korea of violating restrictions imposed on imports of refined oil by the United Nations in a bid to bolster its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
The UN Security Council ordered the immediate cessation of all oil deliveries until the end of the year, according to a Reuters report on Friday.
The 15 member states of the council established an annual limit of 500,000 barrels imports per year. The sanctions began in 2018 and were renewed again in 2020 in an effort to cut fuel to North Korea and hamper its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
POMPEO SAYS TRUMP ONLY WANTS NORTH KOREA SUMMIT THIS YEAR IF ‘REAL PROGRESS’ CAN BE MADE
A complaint was filed with the sanctions committee of the UN Security Council by 43 reported nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. He alleged that 1.6 million barrels of refined oil had been imported in the first five months of this year, for 56 illegal tanker deliveries.
North Korean ships continue to make illicit ship-to-ship deliveries at sea “on a regular basis like the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] main means of importing refined oil, “said the complaint.
The complaint did not describe which countries are receiving the illegal shipments, but, according to the monthly Security Council report, the only official shipments they have received have been delivered by Russia and China.
The Security Council sanctions committee has been asked to officially investigate the number of barrels received to formally determine that the limit has been reached and to “inform Member States that the sale, supply or transfer must cease immediately of refined petroleum products to the DPRK for the rest of the year, “Reuters reported.
Russia and China have blocked similar requests in 2018 and 2019, and were reportedly the only nations to supply official shipments of refined oil to North Korea during that time.
SHIPPED FROM UNITED STATES TO NORTH KOREA RARE PUBLIC CRITICAL PROBLEMS FROM OFFICIAL PYONGYANG IN THE MIDDLE OF NEGOTIATIONS
“China and Russia have collectively reported 106,094.17 barrels of transfers of refined petroleum products … from January to May,” according to the complaint. “The official accounting for DPRK imports represents far less than the volume of refined petroleum products that actually enters the DPRK.”
The complaint has also called for nations to “exercise increased vigilance immediately” to prevent the illegal shipment of oil to North Korea, which has been under UN Security Council sanctions since 2006, as they have continuously sought to strengthen its nuclear weapons program.
Under Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said China can be a critical partner in helping with sanctions and preventing the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles by North Korea.
But at a press conference on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected this call for cooperation.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“China maintains an independent foreign policy,” said Wenbin. “Whether it is to develop friendly cooperative relations with the DPRK or to deal with the issues of the Korean peninsula and advance the process of political settlement of the peninsula issue, China will act on its own position and judgment.”
The United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment.
