Reuters reported last month that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea at sea and U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Jan. 17 that Russia was helping Pyongyang get supplies in violation of the sanctions. European security sources told Reuters that a Russian vessel conducted a ship-to-ship transfer with the North Korean-flagged Sam Ma 2 tanker in open seas during October. “A DPRK-flagged (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) tanker, SAM MA 2 owned by Korea Samma Shipping Company, conducted a ship-to-ship transfer of oil and fabricated documents in mid-October 2017, loading almost 1,600 metric tons of fuel oil in one transaction,” the United Nations said. North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun complained about the “human rights racket” on Monday, charging that the United States and its “vassal forces” have fabricated complaints about the appalling state of human rights in North Korea to justify ongoing sanctions and trick the North Korean people into turning against their government. The recent thaw in relations, which could even lead to a summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in May, follows months of increased tensions after North Korea conducted missile launches and a nuclear test last year in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
The United Nations places sanctions on a North Korean ship for conducting fuel transfers in breach of UN sanctions.