China to begin implementing new UN sanctions on N. Korea Tuesday

Published : Aug 14, 2017 - 20:47 Updated : Aug 15, 2017 - 09:31

China said Monday it will enforce the latest United Nations sanctions on North Korea this week, banning the imports of resources and seafood from the country.

The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2371 on Aug. 5 in response the North's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July. The new measures are aimed at slashing its annual export revenue of US$3 billion by a third.

China's Ministry of Commerce said the embargo will be imposed on coal, iron, iron ore, lead and seafood from the North. The ban will take effect on Tuesday, excluding products that have been shipped to ports and are awaiting domestic transportation.

This file picture taken on July 6, 2017 shows a tourist looking out from the Broken Bridge next to the Friendship bridge on the Yalu River connecting the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong. (AFP via Yonhap)

The import ban will likely reduce North Korea's China-bound shipments by some $1.65 billion, or 62.6 percent of the goods it sold to its main ally as of end-2016, according to the analysis by Shanghai-based Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

The trade between the two countries totaled at $6.06 billion last year, accounting for 92.5 percent of the North's entire trade.

China said it will allow the inbound delivery of products from the North's port of Najin on the northeastern coast, if they are proven to have been made in other countries. (Yonhap)