"Russia fully and strictly respects the sanctions regime. We would like to remind that there are, of course, quotas for the fuel deliveries, but there is no total ban [in Resolution 2397]," the press service explained.
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Russia's statement comes after on Friday Reuters reported three cases when Russian tankers supplied petrochemicals to Pyongyang while transferring cargos at sea, citing two anonymous senior Western European security sources.
Earlier in December, the UNSC unanimously adopted a resolution on tightening sanctions against North Korea over its launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile conducted on November 29, which according to Pyongyang, would have been capable of hitting any part of the US mainland.
Among other issues such as export and import of different goods as well as the expulsion of North Korean workers earning income abroad, multiple provisions in the resolution sanctioned North Korea's oil and petroleum industries.
READ MORE: Potential North Korea Military Conflict Could Trigger Rise in Global Oil Prices
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated drastically this year due to the North's nuclear activity, which led to the UNSC imposing its toughest ever sanctions on the country earlier this year. However, North Korea continued the development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, rejecting the new sanctions as "an act of war" and promising to "further consolidate its self-defensive nuclear deterrence."
