Supporting North Korea, Russia and China prevent the US from cutting off oil supplies

Russia and China on June 18 blocked a US initiative to halt fuel supplies to North Korea, saying they needed more time to study the US proposal. Twenty-five UN members, including Japan, France and Germany, supported Washington's initiative.

The US previously asked the UN sanctions committee to declare that North Korea had received more than the maximum 500,000 barrels per year of oil and to order all countries to halt fuel transfers to Pyongyang in 2019.

In a report last week, the US accused North Korea of ​​breaching a UN cap on fuel imports by carrying out dozens of oil transfers at sea this year. The fuel import limit is one of a series of tough sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council in response to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

"The United States and its partners are deeply concerned about the extent of violations of UN Security Council resolutions occurring regarding North Korea's imports of refined petroleum products," the report said.

The US and Japan have documented at least eight incidents of oil transfers at sea involving North Korean-flagged vessels. The US has also detected 70 similar cases between January and April, but Washington has not specified the volume of oil transferred.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have held two summits but failed to make a breakthrough in relations between the two countries. The US has affirmed to continue maintaining "maximum pressure" through sanctions until North Korea agrees to abandon its nuclear program, but Pyongyang has not accepted this condition.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in last week called on Trump and Kim to meet again soon, saying a prolonged stalemate could undermine diplomatic efforts on the Korean peninsula.