China Caught Helping North Korea

Selling oil to North Korea despite sanctions.

12.28.2017
News
Brian Lilley
  

Satellite images, reportedly from American intelligence sources, show that China is selling oil to North Korea despite having previously agreed to join in sanctions against the regime that would prohibit the sale. The news first broke in the Korean daily The Chosun Ilbo, one of the largest circulation newspapers in South Korea.

The newspaper reports that China has been spotted transferring oil to North Korea more than 30 times since October:

According to South Korean government sources, the satellites have pictured large Chinese and North Korean ships illegally trading in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea.

The satellite pictures even show the names of the ships. A government source said, "We need to focus on the fact that the illicit trade started after a UN Security Council resolution in September drastically capped North Korea's imports of refined petroleum products." 

President Donald Trump tweeted about the revelation on Thursday, declaring that China had been caught red-handed and that the actions of the regime in Beijing were putting a peaceful resolution to the North Korean missile crisis in jeopardy:

Fox News reports that the satellite images show vessels that belong to a North Korea shipping company which is part of increased sanctions introduced in November:

The satellite images appear to identify the ships. One of them — Rye Song Gang 1, seen “connected to a Chinese vessel” — was included in the Nov. 21 sanctions as a vessel of Korea Kumbyol Trading Company possibly transferring oil to evade sanctions.  

Retired General Anthony Tata told Fox News that while China signed onto the sanctions, Beijing is trying to keep increased trade with North Korea while simultaneously running a proxy war with the United States.

"They don't want to lose that North Korean buffer between the west and their border," General Tata said.

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