The Associated Press reported early Saturday that in the first month of U.S. President Donald Trump’s term in office, he sent “an American scholar” to meet with North Korean officials and to relay a message.
The message was that the new administration was appreciative of a nearly four-month freeze of the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests – and thought it “might just offer a ray of hope,” the news agency said in its account.
However, the AP reported North Korean officials said the lack of testing wasn’t a sign of conciliation and insisted Kim Jong Un would order tests whenever he wanted. Two days later, the North launched a new medium-range missile, ushering in a year of escalating tensions.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported late Friday that “Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea.” Reuters attributed the information to two senior Western European security sources.
Russia is a member of the United Nations Security Council. The sale of oil and oil products to North Korea would be a breach of U.N. sanctions
One security source told Reuters “Russian vessels have made ship-to-ship transfers of petrochemicals to North Korean vessels on several occasions this year in breach of sanctions.”
Another security source told the news agency, “There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state, but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans.”
more at VOA
