The statement came on April 3, a month after the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2270 sanctioning the North for its recent nuclear test and missile launch.
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“The mining sector is a key part of North Korea’s economy, which is already largely cut off from the rest of the world”, Reuters observed.
China says it will make exceptions to the sanctions if materials are intended for civilian use, and not connected to the North’s nuclear or missile programs.
The measure, which includes gold, titanium, vanadium and rare earth imports, also restricts jet fuel exports from China.
Previously, the South Korean government has doubted North Korea’s technical capability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon.
The US and its allies have long complained about rampant smuggling across the Chinese border and North Korea had exported coal in violation of previous sanctions. North Korea is expected to suffer a huge blow from China’s sanctions as Beijing accounts for almost 90-percent of its trade.
The South’s Yonhap News Agency said Pyongyang threatened to take “merciless” action unless Seoul apologizes for alleged plans to strike out at the North Korean leadership. The worldwide community has often accused China of not abiding by the Security Council’s sanctions in true spirit.
The video, titled Unless South Korea Complies with Our Ultimatum, starts with an warning announced March 26, followed by the image of the North Korean army’s long-range artillery exercises conducted on March 24.
Daniel Russel, the top USA diplomat for East Asia, declined Monday to comment about potential reprocessing activities by North Korea, saying it was an intelligence matter.
Although Beijing supported the new sanctions, Chinese officials said they should not be an end in themselves and must be accompanied by dialogue to get North Korea to dismantle its suspected nuclear arsenal.
While the CGI effects are admittedly rather bad, Kim Jong-un’s government threatens to raze South Korea’s presidential Blue House and various other government buildings in Seoul to the ground, ending with the warning, “Everything will turn to ashes”.
Reportedly, the video describes the attacks as being carried out with North Korea’s newly-released 300mm MRLS, which apparently have a range of over 200 kilometers (124 miles).
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Many outside China agree, but whereas the West worries what, in the event of a collapse, would happen to North Korean nukes, China worries for the impact on North Korea’s 25 million people.
