China Halts Imports from N.Korea

China has banned imports of North Korean iron, iron ore, lead, coal, and seafood from Tuesday in compliance with the latest UN sanctions, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said Monday.

But products that have already arrived will be subject to a 30-day grace period set by the UN Security Council and can go through customs before midnight on Sept. 5.

The decisions comes a swift nine days after the UNSC adopted a fresh resolution against North Korea. This measure will slash North Korea's exports to China by a whopping 63 percent.

According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, North Korea exported US$1.19 billion worth of coal, $225.35 million worth of iron ore, $44.04 million worth of iron, $1.11 million worth of lead, and $192.5 million worth of seafood to China last year.

The ban covers $1.65 billion worth of North Korean exports to China, or 62.6 percent of its total exports to China last year. The ban will hit hard on Pyongyang as it has few other trade partners and 92.5 percent of its total exports are to China.