WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump, who has often hailed China´s efforts

to put pressure on North Korea, hit out at Beijing Thursday for failing to

cut off Pyongyang´s oil supply, saying such moves prevented a “friendly

solution” of the crisis.

“Caught RED HANDED – very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go

into North Korea,” Trump said on Twitter.

“There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea problem if this

continues to happen!”

Trump did not directly threaten to launch military action to resolve the

crisis, but in recent months, Washington has promised to “utterly destroy”

the regime of Kim Jong-Un if war breaks out.

South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, citing government sources in Seoul,

reported earlier this week that US satellites had spotted Chinese ships

selling oil to North Korean vessels dozens of times since October.

It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to the report or US

intelligence in his tweet, or if he was accusing China — the North´s main

ally — of directly violating sanctions targeting Pyongyang.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council — with China´s backing —

slapped new sanctions on North Korea that will restrict oil supplies vital

for Pyongyang´s missile and nuclear programs.

The US-drafted resolution bans the supply of nearly 75 percent of refined

oil products to North Korea, puts a cap on crude deliveries and orders

North Korean nationals working abroad to be sent back by the end of 2019.

China is Pyongyang´s main oil supplier.

In recent months, Trump´s administration has praised Beijing for its

efforts to tame North Korea. China has voted in favor of three UN Security

Council resolutions strengthening sanctions on the North since the summer.

Washington remains convinced that only pressure from the government of

Chinese President Xi Jinping will persuade Kim to back down and negotiate

an end to the nuclear standoff.

Beijing “has applied certain import bans and sanctions, but it could and

should do more,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday in a

column published in The New York Times.