China halts coal imports from North Korea

Workers unload coal at a storage site along a railway station in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA) CHINA OUT / SCANPIX

China halts all imports of coal from North Korea, said Department of Commerce in Beijing.

– China will temporarily halt imports of coal from North Korea for the rest of the year, including coal as all customs-cleared but not yet received, according to a statement from the ministry.

China illuminated everything in April last year that the country would abide by UN sanctions against North Korea and halt coal imports from the country.

Why this is happening now, is not known, but the day after North Korea test-fired a new medium-range missile, the access to the port of Wenzhou in China been denied for a North Korean ship which was loaded with coal.

China’s decision is a dramatic loss of important foreign currencies for the North Korean authorities. The country has been China’s fourth largest supplier of coal.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today