Posted on 12/29/2017 11:36:02 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Exclusive: Russian tankers fuelled North Korea via transfers at sea - sources
LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.
The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world’s second biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach U.N. sanctions, the security sources said.
The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.
“Russian vessels have made ship-to-ship transfers of petrochemicals to North Korean vessels on several occasions this year in breach of sanctions,” the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the latest transfers.
“There is no evidence that this is backed by the Russian state but these Russian vessels are giving a lifeline to the North Koreans,” the second European security source said.
The two security sources cited naval intelligence and satellite imagery of the vessels operating out of Russian Far Eastern ports on the Pacific but declined to disclose further details to Reuters, saying it was classified.
(Excerpt) Read more at in.reuters.com ...
Dem's mindless pursuit of Russia gate made already difficult problem much worse. Making Russia back off from N. Korea is a tough problem to begin with. Now it is impossible thanks to their yammering month after month.
P!
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“” “Russia is trying to secure leverage on the cheap. R&D consulting for NK nukes and ICBM’s as well as some oil sales to N. Korea.” “”
I am sure no Russian R&D came into Korean ICBM’s. As for petrol supply there are 25 million people most are innocent. They don’t have any domestic petrol sources and very little arable land to farm. Without diesel they wouldn’t be able to work the land at all. Fat little Kim is one thing but do you want all of them die?
It’s really annoying indeed.
I pay more attention to domestic Russian politics than US politics though. And it makes me see Putin in a very different way.
Less of a threat. But in light of U.S. assistance in Ukraine (giving them weapons) and sanctions on his crony oligarch network, and in our taking the upper hand in the fight against ISIS — Putin needs North Korea for relevance.
And I am just grateful we have a president that will know how navigate and negotiate around this whole thing.
North Koreans get “jobs” in Russia building the World Cup stadiums also. I suppose your argument applies to that too...
Hopefully this is something Trump looks into. Too much Russian and China shenanigans right now wrt NK.
Europe is so anti-Russia that Russia has been turning to China and is allying itself more with China. Russia just issued some yuan denominated bonds. China is the main support for North Korea. China loves using N Korea to intimidate South Korea and Japan. Imagine how much more prosperous South Korea would be without having to support such a large military due to crazy North Korea. CHINA loves this. Because South Korea is a main electronics and hi-tech competitor.
What better way to curry favor with ChiComs than (Russians) to help China’s cat’s paw get oil and make some profits too. You know what a cats paw is, right?
Let’s not forget who CREATED North Korea, dennisw...
It was Russia.
Josef Stalin to be exact. Installed Kim Il Sung back in 1940s...
Russia helps out N Korea with oil in order to curry favor with China. China being N Korea’s main sponsor.
Putin looks to ally Russia w China more and more as a defensive move due to European rejection of Russia. Russia really effed with Europe when oil/gas prices were high but that leverage is gone so Europe is getting some revenge via financial wars against Putin/Russia.
“I did not know that” -— Johnny Carson. Thanks. Comintern?
Russias economy is the size of France. The only reason they are taken seriously is they have nukes and a bad attitude. Someones fleet needs to sink.
As for R&D help, you are awfully sure. Perhaps you have some inside source. I don't pick on Russia for its Mid-East adventure, but Russia was always meddling in N. Korea on the cheap. It is just that it is usually obscured by much larger Chinese presence.
My take is a NKorea EMP against the US would not be effective nationwide. They are not smart enough to pull this off. But an EMP missile strike that would effectively destroy 5-10 West Coast states...Lots easier to pull off.
The beauty of EMP strikes are your missiles don’t have to be super accurate and North Korea’s are not.
Putin has built his entire political career on resentment of the West and in breaking American-led hegemony...”Multi-polarism” is a word you’ll hear average Russians say a lot. That it’s not “fair” America controls everything...
The prospect of US military on the NORTH Korean border (with Russia) would be anathema.
“” “Europe is so anti-Russia that Russia has been turning to China and is allying itself more with China.” “
Nobody is allied to China more than US right now. It is getting harder to recognize who are the senior partner already.
As for Russia it is a kind of cultural outcast for Eurasia. Always have been and always will be.
For Europe it is too Asian but white enough to have no minority privilege and for Asia it is undisputedly white.
This thing has nothing to do with North Korea though.
So Reuters “sources” provide an “exclusive” and I’m supposed to treat it as gospel?
Sorry, I’ll need more than the word of one notoriously lefty “news” agency
Building an EMP is harder than building a of the size that they have now, EMP talk is hogwash, if anything it would be a ‘normal’ nuke. Which will also never happen, because NK would be a sheet of glass in minutes.
300 KT 300 miles above Chicago and our power grid is out. Coast to coast. All of it. Most cars would be fried. No cell service. No landlines. Computers would be toast as well. It would be a living hell.
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