Oil supplies to North Korea could be cut as China’s frustration with ally’s failure to communicate grows
Beijing expected to back tougher sanctions amid claims it was not given advance warning of latest nuclear test
China is likely to support tougher sanctions against North Korea, including cutting crude oil exports, but Beijing will not completely sever the energy exports to ensure the regime of its ally did not collapse, according to Chinese diplomatic analysts.
The assessment came after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test and claimed it had detonated a hydrogen bomb on Sunday, overshadowing a summit of emerging market economies summit held in China.
The test has increased Beijing’s frustrations with Pyongyang as it has ignored the call to stop nuclear weapon development, and reflected the fact that communications between the two nations seem to have broken down.
North Korea used to inform China at least a few hours ahead of its plan to launch nuclear test, but a Beijing-based Asian diplomat said the practice has stopped since Pyongyong’s fourth test in January 2016.
China was not notified about the fifth nuclear test last September even though a senior official from Kim Jong-un’s regime visited Beijing shortly before.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not say whether Beijing was informed by Pyongyang before the latest test, but diplomatic observers said communication between the two sides have been increasingly difficult as Pyongyang continues to defy Beijing with its nuclear programme.
