China said Monday it will begin enforcing tough new U. N. economic sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, announcing its will start blocking imports of coal, iron ore and other goods early next month.
China said Monday it will begin enforcing tough new U. N. economic sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, announcing its will start blocking imports of coal, iron ore and other goods early next month.
China is by far Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner, but analysts are divided on how much the new sanctions will harm North Korea’s already isolated economy. Beijing has in the past also been hesitant to push too hard against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for fear it could collapse and produce even greater regional instability.
Beijing’s trade ban also comes after a week of extremely hostile rhetoric between the United States and North Korea after President Trump declared the U. S. military was “locked and loaded” while Pyongyang threatened to fire missiles into waters near the U. S. Western Pacific territory of Guam.
