China and Russia supplied around 53,000 tons of refined oil to North Korea last year despite tough sanctions restricting trade with Pyongyang, a United Nations report showed Friday.

According to the report disclosed by the UN Security Council (UNSC) on its website, China and Russia shipped 22,730 tons and 30,180 tons of refined oil, respectively, to the North last year.

Their combined 53,000 tons, or 418,000 barrels, represented about 83 percent of the UNSC-imposed maximum annual ceiling of 500,000 barrels.

It marked a slight increase from 48,430 tons the two countries provided to the North a year earlier.

In December 2017, the UNSC adopted a resolution imposing the trade ceiling for refined oil and other restrictions to punish Pyongyang for its ballistic and missile provocations. (Yonhap)