Beijing, May 27 (Agency) China exported around 2,838 tons of refined oil to North Korea in March and April this year, according to data that the country provided to the UN Security Council (UNSC). Beijing supplied Pyongyang with 15,947 barrels, equivalent to 1,914 tons, in March and exported another 7,695 barrels, or 923.8 tons, last month, Yonhap news agency reported citing an update posted on the UNSC’s sanctions committee on North Korea. The total figure represents about 5 percent of the volume of refined oil it can supply to the North in a year.
Russia reported it had not exported any barrel of refined oil to the North as of March this year since it last supplied its ally with 32 tons in August 2020, the report said. Adopted in 2017 following the North’s launch of a long-range ballistic missile, the UNSC Resolution 2397 puts a ceiling on the annual amount of refined oil that can be offered or sold to Pyongyang at 500,000 barrels. China and Russia, on Thursday, vetoed the US-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council to impose additional restrictive measures on North Korea. This comes after Pyongyang test-launched three ballistic missiles this week toward the Sea of Japan just hours after President Joe Biden concluded his trip to South Korea and Japan.