China has ordered North Korean companies in the country to shut down by January as it applies UN sanctions imposed following Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test.
The commerce ministry in Beijing said today the companies, including joint ventures with Chinese firms, have 120 days to close from the date the United Nations resolution was adopted on September 12.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to boost sanctions on North Korea, banning its textile exports and capping fuel supplies.
China’s President Xi Jinping speaks during the 86th Interpol General Assembly at the Beijing National Convention Center in Beijing on September 26, 2017
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a statement in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech to the United Nations, in Pyongyang, North Korea
The UN action was triggered by North Korea’s sixth and largest nuclear test this month.
It was the ninth Security Council sanctions resolution over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006.
The announcement comes days after China confirmed that it will apply another major part of the sanctions – a limit on exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1 and a ban on textiles from its neighbour.
China’s application of UN sanctions is particularly biting for North Korea.
Beijing is Pyongyang’s main ally and trading partner, responsible for around 90 percent of the hermit nation’s commerce.
The United States has pressed China to use its economic leverage to strongarm North Korea into giving up its nuclear ambitions.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Beijing this weekend for talks with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.