US and 25 nations accuse North Korea of violating sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un  (AFP)

UNITED NATIONS — The United States and 25 other countries are accusing North Korea of violating U.N. sanctions by importing far more than the annual limit of 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products.

A complaint seen Wednesday by The Associated Press asks the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea to rule that Pyongyang breached the cap and demand an immediate halt to deliveries.

It says most of the excess petroleum products were obtained from dozens of illegal ship-to-ship transfers.

Last July, Russia and China blocked a similar request from the U.S. to get the U.N. sanctions committee to publicly accuse North Korea of violating the annual quota. The Russians and Chinese are key suppliers of petroleum products to North Korea.