By MATTHEW PENNINGTON and CATHERINE LUCEY – Associated Press – Thursday, December 28, 2017
WASHINGTON (AP) – President criticized China on Thursday following reports that Chinese ships transferred oil to North Korean vessels at sea in violation of U.N. sanctions over the North’s nuclear weapons program.
said on Twitter that had been “Caught RED HANDED,” adding he was “very disappointed that is allowing oil to go into .”
“There will never be a friendly solution to the problem if this continues to happen!” the president said, without citing the source of his information.
accounts for the vast majority of ’s external trade and oil supplies. Just two weeks ago, credited China for its help in the U.S.-led pressure campaign against Pyongyang, including support for three U.N. Security Council resolutions this year – the latest last week – over the North’s nuclear and missile tests.
However, on Tuesday the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo cited unidentified South Korean government officials as saying U.S. reconnaissance satellites have spotted Chinese ships transferring oil to North Korean vessels some 30 times since October in seas off . That report was picked up by some U.S. media outlets, including Fox News.
’s foreign ministry has defended its enforcement of U.N. sanctions against . A ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday she had no information about the latest report, but said has strictly enforced trade restrictions.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that report. But in a commentary Thursday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Beijing to exert “decisive economic leverage” on Pyongyang.
“ has applied certain import bans and sanctions, but it could and should do more,” he wrote in The New York Times.
Ship-to-ship trade with at sea is prohibited under U.N. sanctions adopted Sept. 11. The latest sanctions adopted Friday, in response to the test of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile, also impose sharp reductions on imports of refined oil products by the isolated nation.
Last month, the Treasury Department sanctioned six North Korean shipping and trading companies and 20 of their vessels, and published photos of what it said was a North Korean vessel on Oct. 19 possibly transferring oil to evade sanctions. The statement did not specify whether Chinese vessels were involved in the transfer. At that time, the U.S. also blacklisted four Chinese-based companies and one Chinese individual said to have deep commercial ties with .
has blown hot and cold on ’s efforts on , which despite a dramatic increase in sanctions has made major progress this year on perfecting a nuclear-tipped missile that could strike the United States.
On Dec. 15, Trump said Russia – another significant trading partner with – had failed to help, while had.
“ is helping. Russia is not helping. We’d like to have Russia’s help – very important,” told reporters after a phone conversation with President Vladimir Putin.
Also Thursday, sought to remind the world that he’s long warned about the dangers posed by ’s nukes.
He tweeted a compilation video that included edited footage of an interview he did with NBC’s “Meet the Press” nearly two decades ago.
In the interview, said he’d be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike against if negotiating “like crazy” didn’t work. And he describes the country as “sort of wacko.”
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Lucey reported from West Palm Beach, Florida.
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