U.S. challenges China's imports of North
Korean coal amid U.N. sanctions
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[October 29, 2016]
By Michael Martina
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's imports of
North Korean coal run counter to global sanctions, a senior U.S.
official said on Saturday, adding that a U.S. missile system deployed in
South Korea should "motivate" Beijing to pressure Pyongyang over its
nuclear program.
North Korea's exports of coal to China provide a lifeline for the
country and are also seen by the United States as a crucial area where
Beijing has leverage over its neighbor, which has carried out a series
of missile and nuclear tests in defiance of international sanctions.
China announced in April that it would ban North Korean coal imports to
comply with U.N. sanctions, though it made exemptions for deliveries
intended for "livelihood purposes".
Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists that China had
reversed the burden of proof put forward under U.N. Security Council
resolution 2270 adopted in March in response to a North Korean nuclear
test.
"The plain language of 2270 makes it very clear that the export of coal,
or the importation of coal if you are China, is prohibited unless you
can demonstrate that the transaction in question goes to the livelihood
of the North Korean people," Blinken said in Beijing after visits to
Japan and South Korea.
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"The Chinese have reversed the presumption and their approach has been
that the trade in coal is allowed unless you can demonstrate that it is
going to the weapons program. But that's not what 2270 says," he said.
Coal is particularly important to the economic health of North Korea
because it is one of its only sources of hard currency. China imported
$1 billion worth of North Korean coal in 2015, according to Chinese
customs data.
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![](../images/102916pics/news_q29.jpg)
An employee walks between front-end loaders which are used to move
coal imported from North Korea at Dandong port in the Chinese border
city of Dandong, Liaoning province December 7, 2010.
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Beijing fears strengthening sanctions could lead to collapse in
North Korea, sending a flood of refugees across the border into
China, and it also believes the United States and South Korea share
responsibility for growing tensions in the region.
North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January was followed by a
satellite launch, a string of tests of various missiles, and its
fifth and largest nuclear test in September.
China has repeatedly expressed anger at the United States and South
Korea for their decision to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude
Area Defence (THAAD) system in the South to counter threats from
North Korea. Beijing worries that the system's powerful radar will
compromise China's security.
Blinken said THAAD "was the latest but not the last defensive step"
that the U.S. would take if the North Korean nuclear threat
persists, and that hopefully it would "motivate China to work with
us to change the conduct of the North Korean regime".
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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