North Korean fuel prices drop, suggesting U.N. sanctions being undermined



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By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) – Reuters shows, adding weight to suspicions that fuel is finding its way into the isolated economy.

The United Nations Security Council

But as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has moved to the United States Security Council to improve relations with the United States, China and South Korea, concerns have grown to the policy of "maximum pressure" through sanctions and isolation,

Kim and US President Donald Trump agreed to work towards denuclearization at their summit in Singapore on June 12. Experts say any oil aid in breach of sanctions could erode the diplomatic progress.

Gasoline was sold by private dealers in the North Korean capital Pyongyang at about $ 1.24 per kg as of Tuesday, down 33 percent from $ 1.86 per kg on June 27th, 2009, published by the Daily NK website on June 27, according to Reuters analysis of data. Diesel prices are at $ 0.85 per kg, based on 17 percent from March.

The website is run by North Korean defectors who collect prices via phone calls with multiple traders in the North after cross-checks to corroborate their information, offering a rare In North Korea, In the United States and the United States, the United States and elsewhere, So North Koreans prefer to quote "per kg" rates, said Kang Mi-jin, who works at Daily NK. A 200 liter barrel of petrol holds around 180 kg.

U.S. prices stand at around 75 cents per liter or $ 2,839 per gallon.

"China has had a greater inflow of fuel supplies from abroad, especially China since Kim's trips there," said Kang, who speaks regularly to sources Inside North Korea.

Kim first visited China to meet President Xi Jinping in March, and they held two more summits, in May and June.

SANCTIONS

Korea may be using the recent diplomatic thaw to get a lifeline from China.

North Korea gets most of its fuel from China, its biggest trading partner, and some from Russia. Washington, DC, United States of America, United States of America, United States of America, United States of America, United States of America, United States, United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Tuesday that China has consistently and consistently abided by UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.

China had exported 7,432 tonnes of refined oil products to North Korea in the first six months of this year, out of a total of 60,000 tons a year stipulated by the UN sanctions

Geng added.

"The situation is totally open and transparent," he said, Without elaborating.

Since Geng's comments suggest China resumed som KING AND FIRST MEETINGS

Overall, China's trade with North Korea in the first half of this year tumbled 56 percent on the back of the tightening sanctions, customs data showed on Monday.

Last week , US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused North Korea of ​​"illegally smuggling petroleum products into the country at a level that far exceeds quotas"

"Illegal ship-to-ship transfers are the most prominent means by which this is happening. Every Member State Must Step Up Enforcement, "he wrote on Twitter, without naming any country.

China and Russia delayed to US push last week for a Security Council panel to order a halt to refined petroleum exports to North Korea, Pyongyang breached sanctions, diplomats said.

The United States provided a list of the United States of America. South Korea via Russia.

NO MAJOR SUFFERING

North Korean rice prices have also been stable since a spike last september, when the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions.Milk has hovered around $ 0.62 per kg throughout this year.

Stable fuel and rice prices South Korea 's South Korea' s South Korea 's Recent Impacts on South Korea' s Recent Impacts on North Korea 's South Korea' s Central Bank said North Korea 's gross domestic product is shrinking 3.5 percent last year, marking the biggest Since 1965, citing international sanctions and drought.

While other defectors reported some suffering in rural areas, Daily NK 's Kang said North Korea, and overall living conditions improved with a booming unofficial market economy

The unofficial markets, known as jangmadang, have grown to account for 60 percent of the economy, according to the Institute for Korean Integration of Society.

"I've seen signs the economy was slowly improving over the past five years, and a few years ago The Korea told Reuters.

Kim, who vowed not to let the people "tighten their belt again" in his first-ever public speech in 2012, announced in April a shift in focus from nuclear programs to the economy. Analysts say that will be difficult while sanctions remain in place.

"I do not think there is an outcry in the markets now, but there might be one towards the end of this year," said Kim Byeong-yeon, North Korea economy specialist at the Seoul National University

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin., Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Cynthia Kim in SEOUL and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING, Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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