China's imports of N. Korean products plunge nearly 32 pct in May: report

SHANGHAI, June 24 (Yonhap) -- Shipments of North Korean products to China tumbled more than 30 percent on-year in May, Chinese data showed Saturday, an apparent outcome of China's import ban on North Korean coal as part of international sanctions against the communist North.

According to the data from China's customs office, North Korean exports to China came to US$123.75 million in May, down 31.6 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The tally marks the third-lowest level since June 2014. It also marked the third consecutive month of decline.

China halted inbound shipments of North Korean coal in February under a sanctions resolution of the U.N. Security Council issued late last year. The new sanctions resolution came in retaliation for the North's latest and fifth nuclear test in September 2016.

North Korea's exports to China tumbled 51.7 percent on-year to $114.55 million in March, followed by a 40.8 percent plunge to $99.27 million the following month.

China is said to account for more than 90 percent of North Korea's overall trade.

In the first five months of the year, North Korea's exports to China slipped 9.3 percent on-year to $722.1 million.

China's shipments to the impoverished North, on the other hand, spiked 32 percent on-year over the cited period, according to the customs data.
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