Defence ministry says ‘the situation absolutely does not exist’
China on Thursday denied that it is violating UN sanctions by selling oil to North Korean vessels after reports that Chinese ships suspected of carrying out the illegal trade were seen in the Yellow Sea.
The latest UN sanctions – passed last week after Pyongyang’s intercontinental ballistic missile test in November – seek to cut nearly 90 per cent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year.
But US reconnaissance satellites have reportedly spotted Chinese and North Korean ships illegally trading in oil in the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula.
The trade began after tough sanctions were imposed in September that drastically cut the regime’s imports of refined petroleum products, the Chosun newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing South Korean government sources who said there had been 30 such sightings by spy satellites since October.
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According to Chinese customs data, the country did not export any oil products to North Korea in November.
