The United States and its allies are pushing for a global embargo on oil exports to North Korea as the United Nations Security Council are debating a new round of sanctions against North Korea after its nuclear test on Sunday. Russia has veto power over any such sanctions being considered by the Security Council.

North Korea has been importing most of the oil it needs from China. But it has been trying to increase imports from Russia as an alternative source of badly needed energy for its military, as well as for its decrepit industries, amid signs that Beijing was growing impatient with its nuclear adventurism, according to South Korean analysts.