MOSCOW — The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday denied claims that UN sanctions against North Korea had been breached by Russian tankers transferring fuel to North Korean tankers at sea.
The statement came in response to a Reuters report citing unidentified Western European security sources who said the transfers took place in October and November and represented a breach of sanctions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow has ‘‘fully and strictly observed the sanctions regime.’’
The statement did not address whether or not Russian ships had transferred the fuel. It did say resolutions by the United Nations Security Council have imposed limits on North Korea’s refined oil imports but haven’t banned them altogether.
The council has unanimously approved several rounds of sanctions against North Korea over its missile tests and nuclear program, including a tough new UN resolution earlier this month.
The resolution adopted by the council included sharply lower limits on North Korea’s refined oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country.
It didn’t include even harsher measures sought by Washington that would ban all oil imports and freeze international assets of the government and its leader, Kim Jong Un.
South Korea said Friday that it had seized a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker accused of transferring 600 tons of refined oil to a North Korean ship in October in violation of United Nations sanctions.
Officials revealed that they had impounded the 11,253-ton tanker, the Lighthouse Winmore, and questioned its crew. The revelation came a day after President Trump accused China of letting fuel oil flow into North Korea through illicit ship-to-ship transfers on international waters.
There was no immediate evidence of official Chinese involvement in the Lighthouse Winmore’s dealings with the North Koreans.
North Korea said Saturday that it will never give up its nuclear weapons as long as the United States and its allies continue their ‘‘blackmail and war drills’’ at its doorstep.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency took the oft-repeated stance as it reviewed the country’s major nuclear weapons and missile tests this year.
North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date in September and launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles into the sea in July and November, indicating that it is closer than ever to gaining a nuclear arsenal that could viably target the mainland United States.
The aggressive tests have led to more international sanctions and pressure on North Korea amid concerns that the window for stopping or rolling back its nuclear program is closing.
The United States and South Korea have maintained that they won’t negotiate with the North unless it is willing to discuss curbing its nuclear weapons and missile program.
