China is presumed to have provided North Korea with around 500,000 tons of crude oil so far this year, a similar amount that Beijing offered to its traditional ally last year, despite their apparently strained ties, the Unification Ministry said Thursday.
  

China supplies nearly all of the North's energy needs such as crude oil, diesel and jet fuel. But there have been no recorded oil shipments to Pyongyang since last year amid their frayed ties.
  

The ministry dismissed speculation that China has cut off its oil supply to the North, saying there is no reported abnormality in transportation in North Korea.
  

There have been no reports of a serious fuel shortage in the North, which analysts said indicates that China has been providing crude oil to North Korea in the form of grant aid so that such shipments have not been recorded officially.
  

Changes in the volume of transportation in North Korea can be used as a yardstick to gauge whether the North is suffering from a fuel shortage.
  

The ministry said that North Korea imported around 24,000 tons of grains from China between January and July. Its imports of fertilizer reached some 48,000 tons in the cited period.
  

Relations between Beijing and Pyongyang have been strained following the North's nuclear test in early 2013 and missile tests. North Korea is China's only treaty ally.
  

China called on North Korea on Tuesday to comply with U.N.resolutions banning the North's nuclear and missile tests as Pyongyang hinted at launching a long-range rocket to mark a key national anniversary next month. (Yonhap)