Russia flouts U.N. sanctions, supplies oil to North Korea
According to John Kirby, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, in March, Russia supplied North Korea with 165,000 barrels of refined oil, flouting U.N. restrictions. In response, the U.S. and its allies are preparing new sanctions.
Kirby revealed in an online press briefing that Russia's fuel shipments to North Korea in March led to the country surpassing the U.N. Security Council's annual import cap of 500,000 barrels.
Moreover, he pointed out that Russia also played a role in discontinuing the mandate of the panel of experts tasked with monitoring adherence to U.N. Security Council sanctions. This was achieved by vetoing the extension of their mission, leading to the formal cessation of the team's activities at the end of April.
When questioned about whether the U.S. is devising sanctions as a countermeasure to these regimes' activities, Kirby stopped short of confirming any specifics. Nonetheless, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller later disclosed this at a press conference.
He announced that the U.S. would work with Australia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Britain on the expected follow-up sanctions over the petroleum shipments.
Miller further mentioned that the sanctions would focus on curtailing the fuel shipments from Russia to North Korea as well as the arms exchanges between North Korea and Russia.
