China to limit oil exports to North Korea
By Kamila Aliyeva
China will introduce limits on exports of crude oil, refined oil products, steel and other metals to North Korea within the framework of implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2397, the country’s Commerce Ministry reported on January 5.
This measure will come into force on January 6, according to the message.
“Starting from December 23, 2017 till December 22, 2018, within 12 months, the export of oil of each UN member state should not exceed 4 million barrels or 525,000 tons of oil,” the document said.
In addition, exports of refined oil are also limited. So, from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018, according to the requirements of the resolution, the export of refined oil cannot exceed 500,000 tons.
The move comes after the UN Security Council unanimously voted in favor of new penalties on North Korea for its recent ballistic missile test, aiming to limit its access to refined petroleum products and crude oil.
It also follows an agreement to hold official talks North Korea and South Korea next week which will be the first such contact in more than two years.
China, which has constantly called on the parties to talks in order to ease tensions, was pleased with such a decision.
“China welcomes and supports North Korea and South Korea taking earnest efforts to treat this as an opportunity to improve mutual relations, promote the alleviation of the situation on the Korean peninsula and realize denuclearisation on the peninsula,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.
The active phase of the crisis on the Korean peninsula began in August 2017, when Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles and announced the successful testing of the hydrogen bomb.
Since then a number of international sanctions were applied to North Korea. However, they haven’t proved to be effective by now.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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