Russian Ambassador: Cutting off oil supplies to Pyongyang is a declaration of war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a pharmaceutical factory in the capital Pyongyang. Photo: Reuters/KCNA

Russia's RIA news agency on January 31 quoted Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matzegora as saying that the supply of oil and oil products to North Korea should not be cut off, and that a complete cut would even be considered a declaration of war against Pyongyang.

The United Nations and the United States have recently imposed a series of sanctions to prevent North Korea's ambitions to develop nuclear weapons, including the intention to seek to narrow Pyongyang's access to crude oil and petrochemical products.

“We cannot continue to reduce these fuel supplies any further,” said Ambassador Alexander Matzegora.

According to the Russian ambassador, the UN has set limits for North Korea to import only around 540,000 tons of crude oil per year from China, and more than 60,000 tons of oil products from Russia and other countries.

"That limit is like a drop in the ocean for a country of 25 million people (like North Korea)," commented Alexander Matzegora.

According to the Russian ambassador, the shortage of fuel supplies has caused many serious humanitarian crises. He warned: "Pyongyang's representatives have said outright that the embargo will be considered by the North Korean side as a declaration of war, with all the consequences that will follow."

Last week, the US imposed further sanctions on North Korea, including sanctions on Pyongyang's oil agency.

In his first State of the Union address to the US Congress on the evening of January 30, President Donald Trump pledged to continue to maintain pressure on North Korea to stop developing missiles that threaten US security.

Last Saturday (January 27), North Korea condemned the latest US sanctions against it. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov also said that Russia has no responsibility to implement the sanctions imposed by the US.

Russia's ambassador to Pyongyang also rejected accusations from Washington that Moscow had violated UN sanctions by allowing Pyongyang to use Russian ports to transship coal.

"We have carefully examined the evidence presented by the US side. We found that the ships that allegedly entered our ports, or if they did, were carrying cargo that had nothing to do with North Korea," said Alexander Matzegora.

Reuters previously reported that last year North Korea used ships to transport coal to Russia, and from Russia the coal was shipped to South Korea and Japan, which is believed to be a likely violation of UN sanctions.