Waching daily Feb 1 2018

Russia's envoy to North Korea has warned that international limitations on oil trade with

Pyongyang are far too harsh... and could leave the regime with no choice but to lash out.

He says the crushing UN sanctions on North Korea will inevitably lead to a humanitarian

crisis.

Lee Seung-jae reports.

With the ongoing sanctions on North Korea aimed at curbing the regime's development

of nuclear weapons,... the UN and the United States have sought to reduce the North's access

to crude oil and refined petroleum products.

However, according to Russia's ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matzergora,... lowering

deliveries any further would be interpreted by the North as an 'act of war'.

With UN quotas set at around 540-thousand tons of crude oil a year to be delivered to

North Korea from China, and some 60-thousand tons of oil products from Russia, China and

other countries,... Matzergora said it was a "drop in the ocean" for a country of 25

million people, adding that shortages would lead to serious humanitarian problems.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov also stated that Russia has no obligation

to carry out sanctions produced by the U.S. Russian officials deny charges by Washington

that Moscow, in contravention of UN sanctions, was allowing the North to use Russian ports

for transporting coal.

With no clues on whether or not the latest UN sanctions will slow down North Korea's

nuclear and missile programs,... questions remain over how Russia's relations with the

isolated state will affect the ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.