China‘s Trade With North Korea Slumps as Nuclear Sanctions Bite

Exports to North Korea fell 6.7 percent last month versus a year ago, while imports fell 37.9 percent, customs administration spokesman Huang Songping said at a briefing in Beijing. North Korea‘s deficit with China more than tripled in the first nine months of the year from the same period in 2016, to $1.07 billion, he said, without giving further explanation.

With China‘s support, the UN has agreed on two rounds of sanctions since the beginning of August including bans on North Korean exports of iron, coal, lead, seafood, textiles, and oil import restrictions. The UN stepped up sanctions after Pyongyang fired missiles over Japan and tested its sixth and most powerful nuclear bomb last month.