South Korea praised China Monday for demonstrating its strong will to join international sanctions against North Korea with an effective trade embargo on coal imports.
Beijing announced a ban Sunday on coal imports from North Korea for the rest of 2017 in the latest of punitive measures against Pyongyang. China's Ministry of Commerce said the decision was made to comply with a UN Security Council resolution.
South Korean Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo welcomed the Chinese move saying coal is North Korea's main export and an important source of foreign currency for its moribund economy.
"I believe China showed its determination to actively join a campaign aimed at thwarting North Korea's nuclear threat," he told reporters. "Such measures taken by China are expected to have a substantial impact on North Korea because coal represents a great share in the source of hard currency."
China is North Korea's only major ally, but their relations have become strained since leader Kim Jong-un came to power following the sudden death of his father in late 2011. In internal gatherings, Chinese officials voiced growing frustration with Kim's push for nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Yonhap News Agency reported earlier that Beijing rejected a large amount of coal shipment from North Korea one day after Pyongyang launched a new intermediate-range ballistic missile with an improved solid fuel engine.
Encouraged by the launch of a new missile called "Pukguksong-2", Kim ordered the development of a surface-to-surface missile with extended range, based on the test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in August last year, according to Pyongyang's state media.
China has promised to comply with a UN resolution adopted in November that focused on drying up North Korea's foreign currency earnings.
Calling Pyongyang a "violent and unpredictable" state, Hong accused the regime of hanging on to nuclear weapons and ruled out any early resumption of suspended cross-border trade and dialogue.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com