China said to reject plan to cut off N.Korea oil

China said to reject plan to cut off N.Korea oil

Sat May 7, 2005 7:09 AM ET

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China rejected a U.S. envoy's proposal to cut off North Korea's oil supply as a way to pressure the reclusive government to return to disarmament talks, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

Chinese government officials rebuffed the U.S. idea, claiming it would damage their pipeline, the newspaper said citing unnamed U.S. officials briefed on the talks.

In a meeting in Beijing on April 26, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill raised the suggestion of a "technical" interruption of fuel. But Chinese official Yang Xiyu complained the Americans were focused on too narrow a range of tools for China to influence Pyongyang, according to The Post.

Chinese officials suggested that cutting off food deliveries would have the biggest impact and indicated Beijing was considering expanding a ban on certain imports to North Korea, it added.

China provides much of North Korea's energy and food, and has boosted trade with its neighbor by 20 percent in the last year.

The reported push for a Chinese fuel cutoff came amid signs that North Korea may be planning to test a nuclear weapon, driving the United Nations atomic watchdog on Friday to ask world leaders to urgently pressure the government to desist.

That warning came as a U.S. defense official in Washington said U.S. spy satellite images had shown what may be preparations for an underground nuclear test, although the official said it might also be "an elaborate ruse" by the North Koreans.

In February, North Korea announced it was indeed a nuclear power and said it would not return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programs, which have been stalled for 11 months.

U.S. officials have increasingly turned to China to help bring North Korea back to the negotiating table. However, China's apparent reluctance to put more pressure on Pyongyang has frustrated U.S. officials, The Post reported.