Ed Morrisey, Hot Air: Hmm: China’s national oil firm cuts off North Korea

[TomSea]

Hmm: China’s national oil firm cuts off North Korea
Ed Morrissey   Posted at 8:41 am on June 28, 2017

Has North Korea run out of credit with China, or has Beijing finally run out of patience with Pyongyang? China’s state-run petroleum operation has cut off fuel sales to rogue nation, Reuters reports, ostensibly due to a lack of payment. However, it’s no secret that the Trump administration has put a lot of pressure on Beijing to get tougher with the Kim regime, and a fuel cutoff will hit Kim Jong-un where he’s most vulnerable:

    China National Petroleum Corp has suspended sales of fuel to North Korea over concerns the state-owned oil company won’t get paid, as pressure mounts on Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, three sources told Reuters.

    It’s unclear how long the suspension will last. A prolonged cut would threaten critical supplies of fuel and force North Korea to find alternatives to its main supplier of diesel and gasoline, as scrutiny of China’s close commercial ties with its increasingly isolated neighbour intensifies.

Continued: http://hotair.com/archives/2017/06/28/hmm-chinas-national-oil-firm-cuts-off-north-korea/

[thackney]

Source article for report.

Exclusive: China's CNPC suspends fuel sales to North Korea as risks mount - sources
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-northkorea-oil-exclusive-idUSKBN19J04M

[Wingnut]

Maybe the Fat Lil un will lob one of his glorified scuds over China's way?   

[thackney]

Maybe the Fat Lil un will lob one of his glorified scuds over China's way?

Most likely a payment problem.

A source with direct knowledge of the matter said CNPC decided to put fuel sales on hold "over the last month or two" and described it as a "commercial decision".

[skeeter]

Someone asked how the US could seek retribution for the Norks killing Otto Warmbier.

Applying whatever economic pressure possible on PRC to cut the bastards off from essential resources would be one way.

Of course this is more likely a practical move by China's state owned oil concern, but who knows.

[Bigun]

Perhaps this is true and perhaps it isn't. China also stopped buying N Korean coal in public but continued to buy the hell out of it discreetly.