No role in skirting North sanctions, China tells US

BEIJING: China on Friday rejected accusations that it had helped Pyongyang skirt sanctions after US President Donald Trump claimed on Twitter that Beijing was turning a blind eye to oil transfers to North Korea.

Trump's tweet was the latest salvo in his battle to persuade China to tighten the economic screws on Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear programme, in a campaign that has seen him heap both praise and criticism on Beijing. "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea," Trump wrote Thursday. "There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"

The United Nations -- at the urging of the US -- has imposed a series of sanctions against North Korea aimed at getting it to halt its weapons development. China has supported the moves, but critics claim it is not rigidly enforcing the sanctions, fearful that too much pressure will cause the unpredictable regime to collapse.

South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, citing government sources in Seoul, reported earlier this week that US satellites had spotted Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean vessels at sea dozens of times since October.

"The recent series of reports on this situation do not conform with the facts", Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, adding that Beijing did not allow its "citizens or companies to engage in any activities that violate" UN resolutions. Hua said China had looked into the report of a Chinese ship transferring oil to a North Korean vessel and found it to be inaccurate.

"There is no record of the (Chinese) vessel visiting a Chinese port" since August, she said. "I think making pointless hype through the media is not conducive to enhancing mutual trust and cooperation." A defiant Pyongyang has said there is no possibility of its weapons programmes being rolled back, and that they have been developed to defend against what it terms

aggression by the US and its allies.

from The News International - World http://ift.tt/2DEviEZ