china’s latest move might eventually cripple North Korea’s economy. Being the chief trading partner of Kim Jong-un’s regime, China supplies most oil products to North Korea aside from Russia. Now President Xi Jinping made a decisive demarche against his ally, risking a rift with the North.
North Korea faces pressure from China
Following Kim Jong-un’s threat of Hydrogen bomb test over the Pacific, China finally decided to limit its oil supplies to the North and ban the latter’s textile imports, South China Morning Post reported. This crucial move would definitely take a hit on North Korea’s volatile economy.
The restriction on exporting refined petroleum products to North Korea will be imposed starting October 1 this year, according to the commerce ministry of China. But the restriction on liquefied natural gas would immediately apply.
However, a maximum of two million barrels of refined petroleum will still be exported yearly by China to Kim’s regime, according to Gulf Times. This policy on oil exports falls under the United Nations resolution and will kick off by 2018.
Moreover, according to South China Morning Post, approximately 6,000 barrels of refined petroleum were imported daily by the North from China in 2016. So a considerable cut on oil imports from China could somehow immobilize Kim Jong-un’s military operations.
Does China want to rip away the North’s textile industry?
The textile industry of North Korea is the country’s second-biggest source of revenue. Therefore, a ban on its textile products would cost Kim’s regime over $700 million (£530m) annually.
Celia Hatton, the BBC World Service Asia-Pacific Editor, explained that North Korea often partially makes clothing, which is then finished in China.
This allows a “Made in China label” to be sewn legally onto the North Korean garments.
North Korea’s volatile economy
There is only small energy production in Kim Jong-un’s communist regime. However, the country refines some petroleum products, which are imported from China and Russia. In the past two months, there was around 20% hike in petrol prices in North Korea, according to AFP news agency.
On Saturday, Ri Yong Ho, the foreign minister of North Korea, addressed the UNGA in spite of the fiery exchange of insults between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, said the row was "like when children in a kindergarten start fighting, and no-one can stop them." Mr. Lavrov believed that a break was necessary to calm the two opposing leaders.
