China’s trade with North Korea slumped in September, amid United Nations sanctions aimed at deterring Kim Jong-un from pursuing his missile and nuclear weapons programmes. Exports to the restive state in the month fell 6.7 per cent from a year ago, while imports fell 37.9 per cent, customs administration spokesman Huang Songping said at a briefing in Beijing. North Korea’s deficit with China in the first nine months more than tripled from the same period of 2016, to US$1.07 billion, he said, without elaborating. With China’s support, the UN has agreed on two rounds of sanctions since the beginning of August, including bans on North Korean exports of iron, coal, lead, seafood, textiles, and oil import restrictions. China’s overall trade with North Korea for the first nine months of the year rose 3.7 per cent year on year to US$4.03 billion, slowing from 7.5 per cent for the January through August period. China’s exports to North Korea from January to September rose 20.9 per cent to US$2.55 billion while imports fell 16.7 per cent to US$1.48 billion. The customs agency said it would publish details of its trade in specific products with North Korea on October 23.
