China denies allegations of oil trade with North Korea

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was “very disappointed” that China was allegedly transferring oil to North Korea in a breach of UN sanctions.

China has denied oil transfers between Chinese and North Korean ships after South Korean media said spy satellites had detected 30 such transfers since October.

“Caught RED HANDED,” Trump tweeted. “Very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!”

Last week, the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea following a recent intercontinental ballistic missile test.

The resolution sought to ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year. The resolution also caps crude oil supplies at 4 million barrels a year.

Following the media revelations, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Wednesday that Beijing was applying UN resolutions on North Korea.

* Gulsen Cagatay contributed to this report from Ankara.