On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry of China expressed its opposition to any unilateral sanctions on North Korea, after the United States established new regulations to the isolated country in retaliation for its rocket and nuclear tests.
Japan Times reported that North Korea conducted a nuclear test on January 6 and a rocket launch test on February 7 which the US and its allies claimed to have been equipped with banned ballistic missile technology.
The US then imposed a sanction by prohibiting goods from the US to North Korea. The sanctions also threaten to ban from the global financial system any nation who does business with broad swaths of North Korea's economy, which includes mining, transport, and financial sectors. Reuters reported that a secondary sanction will compel banks to freeze the assets of any individual who breaks the regulation. However, US leaders had previously believed a blanket trade ban would be ineffective if China does not give its full support and commitment to these sanctions.
Earlier this month, China signed on to a new United Nation sanctions against North Korea. Although China is known to be a major ally of North Korea, it is adamantly against the country's nuclear program. In fact, it has called for the nation to be free from any nuclear weapons. Moreover, China underlined that sanctions are not the solution and that only a resumption of negotiations can resolve the dispute over the atomic program in North Korea.
According to Breitbart, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, said that China was "paying attention" to the US sanctions which could impact the business relations between North Korean and Chinese banks. While China fears that these harsher sanctions will destabilize North Korea, several US officials and experts have questioned its commitment to enforcing sanctions on the KIm Jong Un-led country.
The US and South Korea are expected to hold their annual military drills this month, and many believe that the event will tend to generate more tension. North Korea has threatened to launch a "pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice" against South Korea and the US this year.
