In addition, Beijing’s new restrictions ban most imports of North Korean gold, titanium, vanadium and rare earths, a key revenue source for the mineral-rich North.
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The anonymous South Korean official said: “We believe they have accomplished miniaturisation of a nuclear warhead to mount it on a Rodong missile”.
Previous UN sanctions imposed after North Korean tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 did little to dispel its nuclear ambitions.
The South has dealt with threats from Pyongyang for decades, but the North’s nuclear capability has upped the ante.
“No specific figures, including changes in North Korea-China trade volume and (China’s) import volume of (North Korean) coal, have been reported yet”, Kim said.
The nuclear test on 6 January and a satellite launch on 7 February were violations of existing United Nations sanctions.
The Chinese prohibition on exports is linked to any fuel or oil products that could be correlated with North Korea’s atomic programme.
North Korea’s latest propaganda piece was uploaded only 10 days after creating a similar propaganda reel portraying a nuclear strike on Washington D.C.
In line with new United Nations sanctions, China also prevents their nationals from selling or supplying jet fuel to North Korea.
Although Japan is not directly involved with the South China Sea, where Beijing is engaged in land-reclamation projects, China has been alarmed by the actions of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, which have been loaning defense equipment and providing capacity-building to Southeast Asian countries.
The official added: “We believe they have the ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a Rodong. Although both states have been more restrained in this a year ago in terms of cyber activity directed against us, they remain quite active and are steadily improving their capabilities”, Adm. Michael S. Rogers said, according to Yonhap.
The UN Security Council voted in March to increase the sanctions.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said some imports for civilian use will be allowed so long as they are not connected to nuclear or missile programs.
The government’s assessment, shared in a background briefing with representatives of foreign news media here, followed a recent claim by North Korea that it had “standardised” nuclear warheads small enough to be carried by ballistic missiles.
The North fired a Rodong missile in March.
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The CRS report on U.S.-South Korea relations said that such a move could lead to a series of negative consequences, including sanctions on Seoul and a nuclear arms race in the Korean Peninsula.
