Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

China suspends North Korean iron, seafood imports

BEIJING — China will halt iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea starting Tuesday as it implements new UN sanctions, the commerce ministry said on Monday (Aug 14).

A photo taken on July 22, 2017 shows workers at the Chollima Steel Complex, south-west of Pyongyang. The Chollima Steel Complex has around 8,000 staff and is one of the biggest in North Korea, operating in a sector vital to the economy of the isolated, sanctions-hit country. Photo: AFP

A photo taken on July 22, 2017 shows workers at the Chollima Steel Complex, south-west of Pyongyang. The Chollima Steel Complex has around 8,000 staff and is one of the biggest in North Korea, operating in a sector vital to the economy of the isolated, sanctions-hit country. Photo: AFP

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

BEIJING — China will halt iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea starting Tuesday as it implements new UN sanctions, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday (Aug 14).

Beijing had pledged to fully enforce the latest sanctions against its diplomatic ally after coming under pressure from the United States to do more to compel Pyongyang to drop its nuclear weapons programme.

The ministry said on its website that all imports of coal, iron, iron ore and seafood will be “completely prohibited” from Tuesday.

The announcement follows days of increasingly bellicose rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s regime, which has raised international alarm.

The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang on August 6 that could cost the hermetic country US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion) a year.

The sanctions were in response to the North’s two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month, after which Kim boasted that he could now strike any part of the United States.

The US has accused China, which is North Korea’s main economic lifeline, of not doing enough to rein in its neighbour.

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi vowed after the UN sanctions were given the green light that his country “will for sure implement that new resolution 100 per cent, fully and strictly”. AFP

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.