] For three straight days in recent weeks, something
] remarkable happened to the oil pipeline running through
] northeast China to North Korea - the oil stopped flowing,
] according to diplomatic sources, temporarily cutting off
] a vital lifeline for North Korea.
]
] The pipeline shutdown, officially ascribed to a technical
] problem, followed an unusually blunt message delivered by
] China to its longtime ally in a high-level meeting in
] Beijing last month, the sources said. Stop your
] provocations about the possible development of nuclear
] weapons, China warned its neighbor, or face Chinese
] support for economic sanctions against the regime.
]
] Such tough tactics show an unexpected resolve in
] Beijing's policy toward Pyongyang, and hint at the
] nervousness of Chinese leaders about North Korea's
] nuclear ambitions and North Korea's tensions with the
] United States.