Russia’s envoy to the UN insisted that the missile North Korea launched on July 3 was of intermediate range rather than intercontinental. Moscow particularly objects to banning oil exports to North Korea and prohibiting its citizens from working overseas. A bigger cause for concern is that about 90 per cent of Russian exports to North Korea are of oil and minerals. On Tuesday the US House of Representatives passed a bill that bans oil exports to North Korea, employment of North Korean workers, passage of North Korean ships and online transactions of North Korean goods. Voice of America reports that about 2,400 tonnes of Russian flour – part of 5,200 tonnes Moscow has committed – arrived in North Korea last week.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 27, 2017 18:00 UTC