U.S. Desire for North Korea Oil Cutoff Puts China in a Tight Spot
Zhang said that He needs something back from the U.S. to make the Chinese cooperation less costly to its image and geopolitical interests.
Cheng Xiaohe, a Korea analyst at Renmin University, said
that a decision by China to cut off oil to the North would signal a willingness to tolerate instability around Mr. Kim’s government — a course that Mr. Cheng doubted the Chinese leader would take.
Even if China did cut off crude oil supplies, North Korea — particularly its military — would be able to operate for a while, Mr. Hayes said.
The military, which he said uses about a third of the country’s imported oil, has enough stockpiles for "a year of routine, nonwartime
usage — could be more, doubt it would be less." The military could fight for a month before running out of fuel, Mr. Hayes said.
But given its recent economic growth, North Korea would be expected to import about 850,000 tons of crude oil this year, almost entirely
from China, said Peter Hayes, the director of the Nautilus Institute, a think tank specializing in North Korean energy.
Global Times said that There are factions.
The editorial said that cutting off crude oil would lead to a conflict between China
and North Korea and still fail to halt the North’s nuclear weapons program.
North said that There will be less light in households due to less kerosene.