At a time when the United States is calling for more restrictions on fuel exports to North Korea, Russia may be attempting to avoid the total collapse of the regime in Pyongyang. According to “citizen journalists” who report on events inside North Korea for the Osaka-based Asia Press International (API) news agency, fuel prices began to fall in November after several months of fluctuations. The sharp declines come despite increasingly stiff sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, including measures designed specifically to limit the amount of fuel that North Korea can obtain. “They feel that they have done their part in putting new pressure on North Korea but that Washington should be doing more.”While Beijing and Moscow supported sanctions in the autumn, North Korea went for more than two months without launching any missiles, Brown points out. “And while that is exactly what the US wants, Russia is extremely wary of the consequences of the North collapsing,” he added.

Source: Egypt Independent December 05, 2017 13:30 UTC