Sep 16, 2017

China refuses to stop exporting oil to North Korea

Haley Britzky

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, right, and Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, left. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

China refused U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's demands to cut off North Korea's oil supply in an attempt to discourage Kim Jong-un from pursuing nuclear weapons, Bloomberg reports. Yesterday, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said at a White House briefing yesterday that the U.S. is "out of time" with North Korea.

  • China's U.S. ambassador, Cui Tiankai, said the U.S. "should be doing more, much more than now, so that there is real effective international cooperation on this issue."
  • Tiankai also said China would implement the U.N. Security Council resolutions, but "no more, no less."
  • This came hours after North Korea fired a missile over Japan.
  • China is a primary oil exporter to North Korea, and Trump has expressed frustration with China for not being hard enough on them.

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