North Korea accused of breaching United Nations petroleum sanctions

NEW YORK: The United States accused North Korea yesterday of breaching a United Nations sanctions cap on refined petroleum by making illicit transfers between ships at sea.

They demanded an immediate end to all sales of the fuel.

The US submitted the com plaint to the UN Security Council North Korea sanctions committee.

The charge of a sanctions breach comes as the US engages North Korea in a bid to convince it to give up its nuclear weapons.

The North Korea UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the accusation.

North Korea relies on imported fuel to keep its struggling economy functioning.

The US said up to May 30, 89 North Korean tankers had brought in refined petroleum products illicitly obtained in shiptoship transfers this year.

The US did not broadly say which countries it believed were illicitly providing the fuel, but it mentioned a shiptoship transfer involving a Russianflagged ship and one case involving a Belizeflagged ship.

Reuters in December reported Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea by transferring cargoes at sea.

The Security Council capped refined petroleum product exports to North Korea at 500,000 barrels a year in December, down from 2 million barrels a year. — Reuters