[The standoff underscores Trump’s frustration at his attempts to press China to tighten economic pressures on North Korea as part of global efforts to curb the North’s nuclear and missile programs.]
By Emily Rauhala
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Chinese
foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying during a briefing
in
Beijing. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
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HONG
KONG — Did a Chinese ship
deliver oil to North Korea in defiance of the U.N. Security Council? President
Trump and South Korea seem to think so. China does not.
Hours after Trump accused China on Thursday
of being caught “red handed” selling oil to the North Koreans — in apparent
violation of sanctions adopted by the United Nations in September — South Korea
released information that appeared to support his claim.
South Korean authorities said Friday that on
Nov. 24 they seized and inspected a Hong Kong-flagged vessel that on Oct. 19
transferred 600 tons of refined petroleum to a North Korean vessel.
But at a daily news briefing in Beijing, a
spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry flatly dismissed the claim, saying
media accounts “did not accord with the facts.”
“China has always implemented U.N. Security
Council resolutions pertaining to North Korea in their entirety and fulfills
its international obligations,” said the spokeswoman, Hua Chunying.
“We never allow Chinese companies and
citizens to violate the resolutions,” she said.
The standoff underscores Trump’s frustration
at his attempts to press China to tighten economic pressures on North Korea as
part of global efforts to curb the North’s nuclear and missile programs.
China is the economic lifeline for the regime
of Kim Jong Un, and Beijing is under close international scrutiny for gaps in
the sanctions.
China also appears angry at being
unceremoniously called out by Trump — a rift that could shape the year ahead.
Since Trump took office, the United States
and China have backed successive rounds of U.N. sanctions aimed at curbing
North Korea’s weapons program. But Kim has continued to conduct tests,
including tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Trump has responded by periodically — and
often very publicly — urging China to do more. On Thursday, he tweeted: “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!”
He then posted a clip of himself talking
about North Korea’s nuclear program in a television interview that aired 18
years ago.
Trump’s ire will not go down well with
Beijing, which feels unfairly singled out by foreign critics, including Trump.
On Wednesday, when Hua, the Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman, was asked about South Korean claims of a ship-to-ship oil
transfer, she turned the tables on the media by claiming they did not have
their facts straight.
The People’s Daily, a Communist
Party-controlled newspaper, followed up with a detailed account of her
response, noting that she “hit back at the speculation with eight questions to
drive home the point that the conclusion is based on speculation and not facts.”
The headline: “China tells foreign media to
stop it with the wild speculation.”
Shirley Feng contributed from Beijing.
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