The U.S. and its allies accused North Korea of importing more petroleum this year than allowed under United Nations sanctions, according to a report sent to a UN Security Council committee. While Kim Jong Un’s regime is permitted to import as much as 500,000 barrels of oil per year, dozens of Western allies on Friday said Pyongyang has already exceeded that amount through illicit ship-to-ship ttransfers, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News. The letter, signed by countries including the U.S., France, Germany, Japan and Australia, was sent along with a report alleging that 56 illegal shipments to North Korea were made through May. The report presented imagery for 20 of the cases.
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/u-s-and-allies-accuse-north-korea-of-breaching-oil-The countries requested that the North Korea sanctions committee, which is headed by German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, inform all member states that the “aggregate amount of refined petroleum products sold, supplied or transferred” to North Korea in 2020 has exceeded the cap set by the Security Council.
It added that other countries should “immediately cease selling, supplying, or transferring refined petroleum products to” North Korea for the rest of the year. Officials at North Korea’s UN mission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Sanctions enforcement is a crucial aspect of President Donald Trump’s effort to get Pyongyang to eliminate its nuclear program by choking off the hard cash that keeps North Korea’s economy afloat. The U.S. has accused China -- North Korea’s principal economic partner -- and Russia of allowing Kim’s regime to circumvent sanctions.
Source:- Bloombergquint.com
