China's trade with North Korea drops by half as sanctions tighten

China's trade with North Korea plunged 50 per cent in December as UN sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development tightened, the government reported on Friday.

China accounts for nearly all of the North's trade and energy supplies. Beijing has imposed limits on oil sales and cut deeply into the North's foreign revenue by ordering North Korean businesses in China to close, sending home migrant workers and banning purchases of its coal, textiles, seafood and other exports.

Imports from the North shrank 81.6 per cent to US$54 million (Dh198m) in December while exports to the isolated, impoverished country contracted 23.4 per cent to $260m, the Chinese customs agency said.

The UN Security Council has steadily tightened trade restrictions as leader Kim Jong-un's government pressed ahead with nuclear and missile development in defiance of foreign pressure.

Beijing was long Pyongyang's diplomatic protector but has supported the UN sanctions out of frustration with what Chinese leaders see as their neighbour's increasingly reckless behaviour.

Despite the loss of almost all trade, the North has pressed ahead with weapons development that Mr Kim's regime sees as necessary for its survival in the face of US pressure.China has steadily increased economic pressure on Pyongyang while calling for dialogue to defuse the increasingly acrimonious dispute with US president Donald Trump's government.

Analysts see North Korea's need for Chinese oil as the most powerful economic leverage against Pyongyang. But Chinese leaders have warned against taking drastic measures that might destabilise Mr Kim's government or send a wave of refugees fleeing into China.

Chinese leaders have resisted previous US demands for an outright oil embargo but went along with the latest limits.

Under restrictions announced January 5, Chinese companies are allowed to export no more than 4 million barrels of oil and 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products to the North per year. They are barred from supplying its military or weapons programmes.

Chinese officials complain their country bears the cost of enforcement, which they say has hurt businesses in its north-east.