China
has moved to limit North Korea''s oil supply and will stop buying textiles from
the politically isolated nation, it said on Saturday.China is North Korea''s
most important trading partner, and one of its only sources of hard currency.The
ban on textiles trade will hurt Pyongyang''s income, while China''s oil exports
are the country''s main source of petroleum products.The tougher stance follows
North Korea''s latest nuclear test this month.The United Nations agreed fresh
sanctions - including the textiles and petroleum restrictions - in response.
A
statement from China''s commerce ministry said restrictions on refined petroleum
products would apply from 1 October, and on liquefied natural gas immediately.Under
the UN resolution, China will still be able to export a maximum of two million
barrels of refined petroleum to North Korea annually, beginning next year.North
Korea is estimated to have imported 6,000 barrels of refined petroleum daily
from China in 2016 - the equivalent of nearly 2.2 million in total for the
entire year.But China has not published data on oil exports since 2014.The ban
on textiles - Pyongyang''s second-biggest export - is expected to cost the
country more than $700m (£530m) a year.
Clothing
has often partially been made in North Korea, but finished in China, allowing a
Made in China label to be legally sewn onto the clothing, BBC World Service
Asia-Pacific Editor Celia Hatton says.China and Russia had initially opposed a
proposal from the US to completely ban oil exports, but later agreed to the
reduced measures.North Korea has little energy production of its own, but does
refine some petroleum products from crude oil it imports - which is not
included in the new ban.Petrol prices in Pyongyang have risen by about 20% in
the past two months, the AFP news agency reports.
"It
was $1.90 yesterday, today it is $2," a petrol station employee told the
agency. "I expect the price will go up in the future."North Korea
also produces coal, some $1.2bn of which was exported to China in 2016, but
China had already strictly
limited its imports of North Korean coal earlier this year.North Korea''s
foreign minister is expected to speak at the United Nations General Assembly
later on Saturday, amid an escalating war of words between Kim Jong-un and
Donald Trump.The North Korean leader earlier labelled Mr Trump "mentally
deranged" and a "dotard" while Mr Trump labelled Mr Kim a
"madman" in response.
Russia''s
foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the row was "like when children in a
kindergarten start fighting and no-one can stop them".Mr Lavrov said a
pause was needed, "to calm down the hotheads".The
pair were at odds over President Trump''s speech at the United Nations General
Assembly, in which he threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if
forced to do so in defence of the US or its allies.He also mocked Kim Jong-un
with a disparaging nickname, saying: "Rocket man is on a suicide
mission."But the North Korean leader said remarks by the
"deranged" US president convinced him he is right to develop weapons
for North Korea.
Source: Ecns.cn, China Thursday, 11 January 2018