Russia, China delay US bid to cut off oil to North Korea
Russia and China on Thursday put a six-month hold on a request from the United States to the UN Security Council to halt all deliveries of refined oil products to North Korea, diplomats said.
The United States, seeking to maintain pressure on the North to dismantle its nuclear program, asked a UN sanctions committee last week to ban further fuel shipments after accusing Pyongyang of using illegal imports to exceed a cap on permissible deliveries.
A UN sanctions resolution adopted last year set ceilings for North Korea of four million barrels of crude oil per year and 500,000 barrels of refined oil products.
A cut-off of oil and fuel would have to be enforced primarily by China, which supplies most of North Korea's energy needs, but also by Russia, which delivers some oil to Pyongyang.Russia and China told the council that they needed more time to consider the US request and to review Washington's allegations of sanctions-busting by North Korea.
