China announces Sept. 5 cutoff of North Korean imports

FILE: Flag of China (Photo by Richard Fisher/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

BEIJING — China says it will stop importing North Korean iron ore, coal, fish and other goods in three weeks under U.N. sanctions imposed over the North’s nuclear program.

The Chinese customs agency said Monday it will stop processing imports at midnight on Sept. 5.

China, the isolated North’s main trading partner, has been reluctant to push leader Kim Jong Un’s regime too hard for fear it might collapse. But Beijing is increasingly frustrated with Pyongyang and joined in approving a U.N. Security Council ban on Aug. 5 on coal and other key goods.