China will pay the biggest price from the new U.N. sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country, but will always enforce the resolutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday over its continued missile tests that could slash the reclusive country’s $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.
Speaking at a regional security forum in Manila on Monday, Wang said the new resolution showed China and the international community’s opposition to North Korea’s continued missile tests.
China, North Korea’s lone major ally, has repeatedly said it is committed to enforcing increasingly tough U.N. resolutions on North Korea, though it has also said what it terms “normal” trade and ordinary North Koreans should not be affected.
The latest U.N. resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean labourers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.
“What this is going to do is send a very strong message and a united message,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told NBC’s “Today” programme in an interview on Tuesday, adding that Washington would be watching to see the sanctions are enforced.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised other nations for addressing North Korea’s missile programme.
“After many years of failure, countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!,” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/894880193839497216
