Trump rebukes China for alleged North Korea oil trade
December 29, 2017
US President Donald Trump has claimed China was caught "red handed" transferring oil to North Korean vessels. Beijing rejected the accusations, saying it is adhering to UN sanction rules imposed on the rogue state.
A North Korea vessel spotted by the Chinese border city of Dandong in September 2017.Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Baker
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US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to attack China on Thursday, following media reports that American reconnaissance satellites had spotted multiple instances of Chinese ships transferring oil to North Korean vessels.
Trump posted on Twitter: "Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this continues to happen!"
Also on Thursday, Trump posted clips from a television interview he had given almost 20 years ago, in which he said he would be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, if negotiating "like crazy" failed.
China, in turn, moved quickly to dismiss the allegations. Asked about the claims at a press briefing, a spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry said that there had been no been no sanctions-breaking oil sales by Chinese vessels to North Korea. "The situation you have mentioned absolutely does not exist," he said.
The allegations were first reported on Tuesday in South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, citing an anonymous South Korean government source. The source alleged that Chinese ships had illicitly transferred oil to North Korean vessels some 30 times since October in seas off China.
UN slaps tough new sanctions on North Korea
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The report was later picked up in some sections of the US media, including Fox News.
If true, the incidents would signal a significant violation of recent UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in response to its nuclear weapons program. The latest resolution, agreed by the UN Security Council just last week, seeks to ban almost 90 percent of all refined petroleum exports to the rogue nation by imposing a cap of just 500,000 barrels per year.
Crude oil exports to the North, meanwhile, are limited to 4 million barrels a year. Security Council members, including China, are also committed to further reductions in the event that Pyongyang launches another nuclear test or intercontinental ballistic missile.
Oil is of particular value in North Korea, which lacks a stable electricity grid, for the use of generators in rural areas.
Although China has voted in favor of all three sanctions resolutions since last summer, it still accounts for the vast majority of all trade and oil supplies into its neighbor, North Korea.
The Trump administration has repeatedly praised and denounced Beijing for its efforts (or lack thereof) to rein in the North and its leader, Kim Jong Un. Washington argues that only China and its president, Xi Jinping, can put an end to the stand-off by convincing the regime to back down and perhaps abandon its nuclear program.
ICBM threat and North Korea's overall military strength
For years, the international community downplayed the threat of North Korea's military power. With the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, it is clear that Pyongyang's military capabilities are growing.
Image: Gettty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Major achievement
In early June 2017, North Korea test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time. Testing an ICBM marked a major military achievement for Pyongyang and a serious escalation of tensions with the United States and its allies in the region, particularly South Korea and Japan.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Trouble with warheads
At the time, defense experts said the ICBM could reach as far as the US states of Alaska and Hawaii. However, it was unclear if North Korea can field an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead on its cone that could survive reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. North Korean state media claimed the ICBM was capable of carrying a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to any part of the United States.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
Pyongyang's nuclear tests - six times and counting
The ICBM is believed to be a step forward in the North's nuclear program. Despite pressure from the international community, Pyongyang has made no secret of its nuclear ambitions. Alongside its ritual ballistic missile tests, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests on at least six occasions, including one in September 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/KCNA
US running out of patience?
Responding to the first ICBM test with a show of force, the US and South Korean troops on conducted "deep strike" precision missile drills using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and the Republic of Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II. In April, the US sent its Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula, saying it was taking prudent measures against the North.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/M. Brown
Testing the boundaries
Ignoring international condemnation, Pyongyang test-launched another rocket on July 28, 2017, just weeks after its first ICBM test. In both of the tests, North Korea used Hwasong-14 missile, but the second one reached a higher altitude and traveled a larger distance than the first one, according to the state media.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA
Whole of US within range?
Pyongyang conducted its third test November 29, using a newly developed Hwasong-15 missile. US, Japanese and South Korean officials said it rose to about 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and flew 960 kilometers (600 miles) over about 50 minutes before landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone off the country's coast.
Image: picture-alliance/MAXPPP
One of the world's largest militaries
Apart from a developing missile and nuclear program, North Korea has a powerful army with 700,000 active troops and another 4.5 million in the reserves. It can call upon almost a quarter of its population to serve in the army at any given time. The North's bloated army is believed to outnumber its southern neighbor's by two-to-one.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Jones
Vast capabilities
According to the 2017 Global Firepower Index, the North has, as part of a far-reaching arsenal, 458 fighter aircraft, 5,025 combat tanks, 76 submarines, and 5,200,000 total military personnel. The picture above from 2013 shows leader Kim Jong Un ordering strategic rocket forces to be on standby to strike US and South Korean targets at any time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Enemies all around
Alongside the United States, Pyongyang views its neighbors South Korea and Japan as its two other main enemies. North Korea has used US military exercises in the region as means of galvanizing its people, claiming that the exercises are dress rehearsals for an impending invasion.
Image: Reuters/K. Hong-Ji
Huge, colorful demonstrations of military might
Every year, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and citizens roll through the streets of the capital Pyongyang to take part in the North's military parades. Preparations for the rallies often begin months in advance, and the parades usually mark important anniversaries linked with the Communist Party or Kim Jong Un's family.
