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