Reuters:
New U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea, imposed after its fifth and largest nuclear test in September, are not intended to harm “normal” trade with the isolated country nor affect civilians, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The sanctions are aimed at cutting North Korea’s annual export revenue by a quarter.
The 15-member council unanimously adopted a resolution to slash North Korea’s biggest export, coal, by about 60 percent with an annual sales cap of $400.9 million, or 7.5 million metric tonnes, whichever is lower.
China, believed to be the only country buying North Korean coal, would slash its imports by some $700 million compared with 2015 sales under the new sanctions, diplomats said.
China is North Korea’s most important economic and diplomatic backer, despite its anger at Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests, and Beijing frequently comes under suspicion for not properly enforcing sanctions.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China has always enforced U.N. resolutions responsibly, and that would be the case with the new sanctions.
“Resolution 2321 formulates new measures, showing the resolve of the Security Council, and also points out they must avoid creating adverse consequences for North Korean civilian and humanitarian needs, and are not intended to create negative effects on normal trade,” he said.
