The White House on Friday welcomed news of a sharp drop in Chinese trade with North Korea, saying it would help put pressure on Kim Jong-un’s regime….
The White House on Friday welcomed news of a sharp drop in Chinese trade with North Korea, saying it would help put pressure on Kim Jong-un’s regime.
China reported earlier that its imports from North Korea plunged 33 per cent last year – and 81.6 per cent in December.
President Donald Trump’s “administration is pleased that China is sharply reducing its trade with North Korea,” the White House said in a statement.
“This action supports the United States-led global effort to apply maximum pressure until the North Korean regime ends its illicit programmes, changes its behaviour and moves toward denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
More nuke tests likely as North Korea tunnels further into ‘tired mountain’
Trump has leaned heavily on China to use its economic clout to rein in North Korea, but Kim has shown no sign of halting Pyongyang’s race to become a nuclear power capable of striking the United States.
In 2017, it conducted tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of hitting the United States as well as its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.
