China bought tons of North Korean coal

North Korea's major trading partner imported 1.64 million tonnes of coal in August, despite an alleged embargo imposed by Beijing to comply with UN sanctions aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

According to CNN, while China announced in February that it would cut off all coal shipments from its neighbor until the end of this year, official customs data show that the country has kept that promise until last month, when imports of black mineral totaled $ 138.1 million. U.S. dollar.

This increase is significant given that China imported US $ 122.5 million in coal in January, while the number fell to US $ 98.1 million in February and reached zero in March.

Experts interviewed by the channel said that the reason for Beijing's behavior is that the February ban was imposed so drastically that several portions of coal were already in Chinese ports and needed to be cleared before September 5. After that deadline, China said it would not process coal imports from Pyongyang, even if the goods had already arrived.

In a strict sense, China has not violated Security Council resolutions. However, analysts believe that China has proven to be a reliable partner.