China is taking action on North Korea’s insistent efforts to test fire missiles by restricting imports of arms-related materials such as iron ore, jet fuel and other oil products.
The move announced on Tuesday came in the wake of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington where Chinese President Xi Jinping made a joint commitment with U.S. President Barack Obama to keep the world safe from the threat of nuclear weapons.
As expected, North Korea was the focus of most of the discussions, particularly its series of missile testing in the past few months.
Export Restrictions
According to China Daily, the Ministry of Commerce posted on its official website a list of resources that would not be allowed to be imported from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The move was made in line with sanctions applied to the country by the United Nations.
Citing Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences researcher Lyu Chao, the outlet also revealed that the trade ban is expected to have great effect in North Korea's economy considering that mineral exports to China account for 90 percent of its total export volume.
Among the minerals banned from import are gold, rare earth elements as well as steel alloys such as titanium and vanadium.
However, China will still be allowing imports of jet and rocket fuel, and coal limited only to those intended for "the people's well-being."
This means individuals who will use the products for "basic humanitarian needs" such as civilian passenger planes set to fly outside North Korea will still be allowed to undergo trade.
U.N. Sanctions
Because North Korea has consistently been defiant of the United Nations, sanctions will only be effective if all U.N. members should team up to enforce them.
This includes China, which is expected to play a crucial role in the process because of its close ties with the disobedient government.
Fortunately, the Asian giant pledged its commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the recently concluded Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington.
"China and the U.S. have a responsibility to work together," Xi said in a statement cited by The Independent.
The U.N. sanctions agreed upon during the summit include both exports and imports of weapons and related materials to and from Pyongyang, per a report from Reuters.
It also covers blacklisted ships owned by North Korean shipping firm Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM) as well as the National Aerospace Development Agency (NADA), which was found to be responsible for test launching a missile in February.