Border&nbsp;police&nbsp;in China's northeast have been given&nbsp;quotas&nbsp;to identify and expel undocumented migrants, one key aspect of broader surveillance that is making it harder for North Korean defectors to evade capture, according to previously undisclosed official documents and a dozen people familiar with the matter.

China has implemented new deportation centres, hundreds of smart facial-recognition cameras and extra boat patrols along its 1,400-kilometre frontier with North Korea, according to a Reuters review of more than 100 publicly available government documents that outline spending on border surveillance and infrastructure.&nbsp;

In addition, Chinese&nbsp;police&nbsp;have begun to closely monitor the social media accounts of North Koreans in China, and collect their fingerprints, voice and facial data, four defectors and two missionaries told Reuters.&nbsp;Stephen Kim, a missionary who helps North Koreans defect, told Reuters that based on his contacts with some 2,000 defectors, more than 90% of those currently in China had registered personal and biometric data with the&nbsp;police.&nbsp;

The measures took effect since the COVID-19 pandemic and have ramped up from 2023.

Cracking down on unauthorised migration helps Beijing manage a thorny issue in ties with Pyongyang while ensuring stability on China's periphery, according to eight people, including security scholars, rights activists and a former North Korean official. It also gives China potential leverage over its neighbour because Beijing can control the fate of these undocumented North Koreans, several of them said.

"But primarily, China has feared that if too many North Koreans find refuge in China, more and more North Koreans would follow suit, and in time the outflow would destabilize North Korea and lead to reunification under South Korea and to the expansion of U.S. political and military influence on the peninsula," said Roberta Cohen, a human rights specialist and a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state.

China's National Immigration Administration, which is responsible for border&nbsp;police, and the Ministry of Public Security, which oversees the immigration agency, did not respond to queries about efforts to identify and deport North Koreans.&nbsp;

Beijing's Foreign Ministry said China protected "the rights and interests of foreigners in China, while lawfully maintaining the order of border entries and exits". It said the "relevant report is completely not factual", in an apparent reference to Reuters reporting. The ministry didn't respond to additional questions about Reuters findings and which elements it considered incorrect.

North Korea's embassy in Beijing and its U.N. missions in Geneva and New York didn't respond to questions about China's handling of defectors.

While the documents don't explicitly identify North Koreans as targets of the surveillance and deportations, the measures are focused on areas adjoining North Korea.&nbsp;

Reuters found little evidence of similar actions at China's other borders, except its porous frontier with Myanmar, where China has been tackling organised crime and recently opened a deportation centre.

In a statement, Myanmar's government said 48,000 of its nationals were repatriated from China between 2022 and August 2024. Both countries collaborate on border management to ensure stability, it added.

<h2>Border patrol</h2>

Among the documents examined by Reuters was the 2024 budget for China's border&nbsp;police&nbsp;in Jilin province, which adjoins North Korea.

Of 163 million yuan in spending, almost 30 million yuan went to border security upgrades. That included 22.3 million yuan for an unspecified number of new patrol boats, and funding for "deportation and repatriation" of foreigners that illegally enter, live and work in Jilin.

The budget set goals for 18 border&nbsp;police&nbsp;stations and teams: Investigate and "deal with" at least 10 undocumented foreigners; spend no more than 30 days to process each deportation; and remind residents of the "harm and price paid" for aiding undocumented migrants. It lists performance metrics, including 10 points for achieving a repatriation rate of 95%.

There were no such&nbsp;quotas&nbsp;in the 2023 and 2022 budgets.

Construction also began last year on a deportation station in the border city of Dandong, in Liaoning province, while another is planned for Changchun city, in Jilin, government tenders show.

In March, Jilin border&nbsp;police&nbsp;awarded a 26.5 million-yuan contract to a Beijing sensor maker, HT Nova, to build a surveillance system that "emits high-energy rays to penetrate vehicles and goods" and can use deep learning to continuously improve its facial-recognition capabilities, according to one tender document.&nbsp;

The system, funded in the 2023 border&nbsp;police&nbsp;budget, would be installed at two crossings in the Changbai area, a route defectors use. The company didn't respond to a request for comment.

Separately, a 7,713 square-metre deportation station in the town of Tumen, which was in the works before the pandemic, was completed in 2023, according to the National Immigration Administration.

Since June 2022, the agency has published several job ads seeking graduates with Korean-language ability to work at the Tumen and Changchun facilities, who would be "mainly engaged in the detention of illegal immigrants pending deportation, identity verification, and implementation of repatriation".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/north-koreas-evolving-military-threats-chinas-increasing-assertiveness-world-news-wion-648003">Watch |&nbsp;North Korea's evolving military threats; China's increasing assertiveness | World News | WION</a>

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<h2>Political dynamics</h2>

Beijing denies that there are any North Korean defectors, instead treating them as illegal economic migrants. There is no publicly available data on deportations of North Koreans, but rights groups say the tighter surveillance has increased the risk of capture.

About 70 per cent&nbsp;of defectors who tried to reach South Korea over the past two years have been arrested by Chinese&nbsp;police, up from about 20 per cent&nbsp;previously, according to the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group, which monitors deportations. China returned at least 60 North Koreans in April, said the group's executive director, Lee Younghwan.

The number of defectors reaching South Korea has declined overall since 2017, which Seoul's Unification Ministry said was due to tighter surveillance on the China-North Korea border, though there has been an increase since the pandemic ended.

In a statement, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Seoul is making "all-out efforts" to prevent China from forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors.

Five security scholars told Reuters that while both sides wanted to stanch the flow of defectors, China's ability to determine defectors' destiny gave it a card to play in diplomacy with North Korea, which is reliant on trade with China but has been forging increasingly close ties with Russia.&nbsp;

China "can demand something from North Korea that is beneficial to China", said Lee Dong Gyu, a China expert at Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. He said the crackdown helped&nbsp;Beijing from a stability standpoint, because North Korea was in economic turmoil and China did not want the effects of that spilling into its territory.

Lee Jung-hoon, an international relations professor at Yonsei University and a former South Korean ambassador-at-large for North Korean human rights, said there was a "high chance" that Pyongyang had asked China for help in blocking routes for defectors. He didn't provide specifics and Reuters could not establish whether North Korea had made such a request.

<h2>'Trapped'</h2>

This isn't the first time that China has cracked down on defectors. Reuters reported in 2019 that Chinese authorities had conducted raids that disrupted defector networks and resulted in the arrests of at least 30 North Koreans.&nbsp;

But some defectors say the heightened surveillance has intensified fear.&nbsp;

Choi Min-kyong, who reached South Korea in 2012 and runs a support group for defectors, said widespread facial-recognition technology in China made it difficult for defectors to move around. Using public transportation, for example, had become too risky.

Shin Ju-ye, who fled North Korea in the 1990s and settled in China's Heilongjiang province, said that during the pandemic, village officials began ordering North Koreans to register their biometric information with the&nbsp;police.&nbsp;Many of her North Korean friends complied, then regretted it, she said.

"My friends told me, 'Sister, don't do it. We are trapped in a fishing net now. If North Korea tells China to catch and send us, we're dead,'" Shin, 50, said in an interview in Seoul.

Reuters could not independently verify Shin's account, and she declined to share her acquaintances' contact information.&nbsp;

Wei Songxian, head of the Heilongjiang government's media office and vice-head of the provincial Communist Party publicity department, did not respond to questions about Shin's account.

Ultimately, Shin did not register her details. Instead, she hatched a plan to leave China.&nbsp;

Travelling in private vehicles, she escaped across the southern border to Vietnam, she said. She then ventured onward by bus, boat and on foot to reach Laos and Thailand, where she was handed to South Korean authorities. She arrived in South Korea in 2023.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Border police in China's northeast have been given quotas to identify and expel undocumented migrants, one key aspect of broader surveillance that is making it harder for North Korean defectors to evade capture, according to previously undisclosed official documents and a dozen people familiar with the matter.

Border police in China's northeast have been given quotas to identify and expel undocumented migrants, one key aspect of broader surveillance that is making it harder for North Korean defectors to evade capture, according to previously undisclosed official documents and a dozen people familiar with the matter. China has implemented new deportation centres, hundreds of smart facial-recognition cameras and extra boat patrols along its 1,400-kilometre frontier with North Korea, according to a Reuters review of more than 100 publicly available government documents that outline spending on border surveillance and infrastructure. In addition, Chinese police have begun to closely monitor the social media accounts of North Koreans in China, and collect their fingerprints, voice and facial data, four defectors and two missionaries told Reuters. Stephen Kim, a missionary who helps North Koreans defect, told Reuters that based on his contacts with some 2,000 defectors, more than 90% of those currently in China had registered personal and biometric data with the police. The measures took effect since the COVID-19 pandemic and have ramped up from 2023. Cracking down on unauthorised migration helps Beijing manage a thorny issue in ties with Pyongyang while ensuring stability on China's periphery, according to eight people, including security scholars, rights activists and a former North Korean official. It also gives China potential leverage over its neighbour because Beijing can control the fate of these undocumented North Koreans, several of them said. "But primarily, China has feared that if too many North Koreans find refuge in China, more and more North Koreans would follow suit, and in time the outflow would destabilize North Korea and lead to reunification under South Korea and to the expansion of U.S. political and military influence on the peninsula," said Roberta Cohen, a human rights specialist and a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state. China's National Immigration Administration, which is responsible for border police, and the Ministry of Public Security, which oversees the immigration agency, did not respond to queries about efforts to identify and deport North Koreans. Beijing's Foreign Ministry said China protected "the rights and interests of foreigners in China, while lawfully maintaining the order of border entries and exits". It said the "relevant report is completely not factual", in an apparent reference to Reuters reporting. The ministry didn't respond to additional questions about Reuters findings and which elements it considered incorrect. North Korea's embassy in Beijing and its U.N. missions in Geneva and New York didn't respond to questions about China's handling of defectors. While the documents don't explicitly identify North Koreans as targets of the surveillance and deportations, the measures are focused on areas adjoining North Korea. Reuters found little evidence of similar actions at China's other borders, except its porous frontier with Myanmar, where China has been tackling organised crime and recently opened a deportation centre. In a statement, Myanmar's government said 48,000 of its nationals were repatriated from China between 2022 and August 2024. Both countries collaborate on border management to ensure stability, it added. Border patrol Among the documents examined by Reuters was the 2024 budget for China's border police in Jilin province, which adjoins North Korea. Of 163 million yuan in spending, almost 30 million yuan went to border security upgrades. That included 22.3 million yuan for an unspecified number of new patrol boats, and funding for "deportation and repatriation" of foreigners that illegally enter, live and work in Jilin. The budget set goals for 18 border police stations and teams: Investigate and "deal with" at least 10 undocumented foreigners; spend no more than 30 days to process each deportation; and remind residents of the "harm and price paid" for aiding undocumented migrants. It lists performance metrics, including 10 points for achieving a repatriation rate of 95%. There were no such quotas in the 2023 and 2022 budgets. Construction also began last year on a deportation station in the border city of Dandong, in Liaoning province, while another is planned for Changchun city, in Jilin, government tenders show. In March, Jilin border police awarded a 26.5 million-yuan contract to a Beijing sensor maker, HT Nova, to build a surveillance system that "emits high-energy rays to penetrate vehicles and goods" and can use deep learning to continuously improve its facial-recognition capabilities, according to one tender document. The system, funded in the 2023 border police budget, would be installed at two crossings in the Changbai area, a route defectors use. The company didn't respond to a request for comment. Separately, a 7,713 square-metre deportation station in the town of Tumen, which was in the works before the pandemic, was completed in 2023, according to the National Immigration Administration. Since June 2022, the agency has published several job ads seeking graduates with Korean-language ability to work at the Tumen and Changchun facilities, who would be "mainly engaged in the detention of illegal immigrants pending deportation, identity verification, and implementation of repatriation". Watch | North Korea's evolving military threats; China's increasing assertiveness | World News | WION iv class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"> × Political dynamics Beijing denies that there are any North Korean defectors, instead treating them as illegal economic migrants. There is no publicly available data on deportations of North Koreans, but rights groups say the tighter surveillance has increased the risk of capture. About 70 per cent of defectors who tried to reach South Korea over the past two years have been arrested by Chinese police, up from about 20 per cent previously, according to the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group, which monitors deportations. China returned at least 60 North Koreans in April, said the group's executive director, Lee Younghwan. The number of defectors reaching South Korea has declined overall since 2017, which Seoul's Unification Ministry said was due to tighter surveillance on the China-North Korea border, though there has been an increase since the pandemic ended. In a statement, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Seoul is making "all-out efforts" to prevent China from forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors. Five security scholars told Reuters that while both sides wanted to stanch the flow of defectors, China's ability to determine defectors' destiny gave it a card to play in diplomacy with North Korea, which is reliant on trade with China but has been forging increasingly close ties with Russia. China "can demand something from North Korea that is beneficial to China", said Lee Dong Gyu, a China expert at Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. He said the crackdown helped Beijing from a stability standpoint, because North Korea was in economic turmoil and China did not want the effects of that spilling into its territory. Lee Jung-hoon, an international relations professor at Yonsei University and a former South Korean ambassador-at-large for North Korean human rights, said there was a "high chance" that Pyongyang had asked China for help in blocking routes for defectors. He didn't provide specifics and Reuters could not establish whether North Korea had made such a request. 'Trapped' This isn't the first time that China has cracked down on defectors. Reuters reported in 2019 that Chinese authorities had conducted raids that disrupted defector networks and resulted in the arrests of at least 30 North Koreans. But some defectors say the heightened surveillance has intensified fear. Choi Min-kyong, who reached South Korea in 2012 and runs a support group for defectors, said widespread facial-recognition technology in China made it difficult for defectors to move around. Using public transportation, for example, had become too risky. Shin Ju-ye, who fled North Korea in the 1990s and settled in China's Heilongjiang province, said that during the pandemic, village officials began ordering North Koreans to register their biometric information with the police. Many of her North Korean friends complied, then regretted it, she said. "My friends told me, 'Sister, don't do it. We are trapped in a fishing net now. If North Korea tells China to catch and send us, we're dead,'" Shin, 50, said in an interview in Seoul. Reuters could not independently verify Shin's account, and she declined to share her acquaintances' contact information. Wei Songxian, head of the Heilongjiang government's media office and vice-head of the provincial Communist Party publicity department, did not respond to questions about Shin's account. Ultimately, Shin did not register her details. Instead, she hatched a plan to leave China. Travelling in private vehicles, she escaped across the southern border to Vietnam, she said. She then ventured onward by bus, boat and on foot to reach Laos and Thailand, where she was handed to South Korean authorities. She arrived in South Korea in 2023. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Police quotas and surveillance trap: Here's how China is deporting North Korean defectors

In a bid to strengthen ties between the two nations, China's top lawmaker Zhao Leji on Saturday (Apr 13) met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and expressed Beijing's willingness to work towards boosting cooperation and deepening trust, said Chinese state media reports.

Zhao's official tour to North Korea marks the first visit by the highest-ranking Chinese official since the year 2018 when Li Zhanshu attended the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding.

"No matter how the international situation changes, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, created and nurtured by the older generation of leaders from both parties and countries, remains deep-rooted and strong over time," Zhao said in a speech, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

At the end of Zhao's three-day visit to Pyongyang, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday.

The meeting between the top Chinese diplomat and North Korean leader came as China kickstarted a "friendship year" with DPRK and is willing to make efforts for the diplomatic ties to reach a "higher level".

Kim Jong Un underlined that North Korea and China have a "deep historical tradition" and added that China-DPRK relations are "constantly developing to a new and higher stage," reported CCTV.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-drops-hammer-on-four-chinese-companies-for-helping-chinas-military-710879">US blacklists four Chinese companies for supplying AI chips to Chinese military</a>

<h2>North Korea test-fires new hypersonic missile</h2>

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un on Wednesday (Apr 10) said that unstable geopolitical situations surrounding the country meant now was the time to be more prepared for war than ever.&nbsp;

"Outlining the complicated international situation ... and the uncertain and unstable military and political situation around the DPRK, he said that now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before," state media quoted Kim on Thursday.&nbsp;

His remarks came after Pyongyang on Tuesday fired a new hypersonic missile.&nbsp;

Overseeing the launch of the Hwasong-16B missile, the supreme leader called it a strategic weapon showcasing the "absolute superiority" of Pyongyang's defence technology, KCNA reported.&nbsp;

He said that the launch would provide North Korea with the capacity for "rapidly, accurately and powerfully striking any target in the enemy side worldwide".

(With inputs from agencies)

In a bid to strengthen ties between the two nations, China's top lawmaker Zhao Leji on Saturday (Apr 13) met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and expressed Beijing's willingness to work towards boosting cooperation and deepening trust, said Chinese state media reports.

In a bid to strengthen ties between the two nations, China's top lawmaker Zhao Leji on Saturday (Apr 13) met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang and expressed Beijing's willingness to work towards boosting cooperation and deepening trust, said Chinese state media reports. Zhao's official tour to North Korea marks the first visit by the highest-ranking Chinese official since the year 2018 when Li Zhanshu attended the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding. "No matter how the international situation changes, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, created and nurtured by the older generation of leaders from both parties and countries, remains deep-rooted and strong over time," Zhao said in a speech, according to China's Xinhua news agency. At the end of Zhao's three-day visit to Pyongyang, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday. The meeting between the top Chinese diplomat and North Korean leader came as China kickstarted a "friendship year" with DPRK and is willing to make efforts for the diplomatic ties to reach a "higher level". Kim Jong Un underlined that North Korea and China have a "deep historical tradition" and added that China-DPRK relations are "constantly developing to a new and higher stage," reported CCTV. Also read: US blacklists four Chinese companies for supplying AI chips to Chinese military North Korea test-fires new hypersonic missile Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un on Wednesday (Apr 10) said that unstable geopolitical situations surrounding the country meant now was the time to be more prepared for war than ever. "Outlining the complicated international situation ... and the uncertain and unstable military and political situation around the DPRK, he said that now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before," state media quoted Kim on Thursday. His remarks came after Pyongyang on Tuesday fired a new hypersonic missile. Overseeing the launch of the Hwasong-16B missile, the supreme leader called it a strategic weapon showcasing the "absolute superiority" of Pyongyang's defence technology, KCNA reported. He said that the launch would provide North Korea with the capacity for "rapidly, accurately and powerfully striking any target in the enemy side worldwide". (With inputs from agencies)

China’s top legislator meets Kim Jong Un, says Beijing willing to deepen trust

Xi Jinping will burnish China's fragile alliance with North Korea by making his first trip to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinas-xi-jinping-to-visit-north-korea-this-week-report-227974">Pyongyang as president this week</a> -- and on Wednesday he sealed their friendship in ink, offering a "grand plan" for regional stability.

Xi, who will be the first Chinese president to visit Pyongyang in 14 years, penned a rare front-page opinion piece in North Korea's official newspaper, touting their "irreplaceable" bond on the eve of this two-day trip.

Xi is visiting the country on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-says-he-received-a-beautiful-letter-from-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-226360">North Korean leader Kim Jong-un</a> as both men face their own protracted negotiations with US President Donald Trump.

With his visit, Xi can show that China still has some influence on its Cold War-era ally and play a role in efforts to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme.

It could also give the Chinese leader some leverage when he meets Trump to discuss the US-China trade war at the G20 next week in Japan.

For Kim, having his powerful next-door neighbour visit will serve as a reminder to Trump that Xi will have his back if the nuclear talks fail for good.

In the opinion piece in the Rodong Sinmun -- the official mouthpiece of the North's ruling Workers' Party -&nbsp;Xi said Beijing was willing to draw up a "grand plan" with Pyongyang to achieve permanent stability in East&nbsp;Asia.

He also vowed that Beijing would play an active role in "strengthening communication and coordination with North Korea and other relevant parties" to push forward negotiations on the Korean Peninsula.

At subway stations in Pyongyang, commuters crowded around newsstands to read Xi's article.

It appeared on page one of the Rodong Sinmun, in the bottom right-hand corner. The whole of the top half of the front page was devoted to an editorial calling on citizens to uphold the works of Kim's father and predecessor Kim Jong Il in building up the Workers' Party.&nbsp;

"This op-ed is an extremely unusual event," said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and researcher in Seoul.

"For Kim, he needed a public endorsement from Xi, so that he could tell his people that 'look, someone as powerful as Xi has our back'," Ahn told AFP.

The trip by the leader of the North's key diplomatic ally and main provider of trade and aid has long been awaited, and comes after Kim travelled to China four times for meetings with Xi.&nbsp;

China and North Korea have worked to improve relations in the past year from a low point as Beijing backed a series of UN sanctions against its Cold War-era ally over its nuclear activities.

Russia and China on Tuesday blocked an American initiative that aimed to halt fuel deliveries to North Korea, which Washington accuses of exceeding its annual limit for 2019, diplomatic sources said.

Hu Jintao was the last Chinese president to visit Pyongyang in 2005, when he met Kim's father, Kim Jong Il.

Xi, who will be given the honour of a state visit, will pay homage at the capital's Friendship Tower.

In recent days soldiers and workers have been sprucing up the tower, a monument to the Chinese troops who saved the North from defeat during the Korean War.

On Wednesday, workers repainted white lines on the pavements of central Pyongyang, trimmed grass verges and added fresh coats of pesticide to trees, as broom-wielding students swept away dirt.

But no Chinese flags were seen by AFP journalists in the capital. Instead, the red and yellow emblem of the ruling Workers Party -- its colours similar to the Chinese ensign -- flew alongside the national flag to mark the 55th anniversary of Kim Jong Il starting work at the Central Committee.

In his op-ed, Xi stressed that this year marks the 70th anniversary of Beijing-Pyongyang relations.

"Over the past 70 years we have been unyieldingly advancing forward in the same boat, breaking through rain and wind," Xi wrote.

"One can say this friendship is irreplaceable, even with an enormous fortune".

Xi Jinping will burnish China's fragile alliance with North Korea by making his first trip to Pyongyang as president this week -- and on Wednesday he sealed their friendship in ink, offering a "grand plan" for regional stability.

Xi Jinping will burnish China's fragile alliance with North Korea by making his first trip to Pyongyang as president this week -- and on Wednesday he sealed their friendship in ink, offering a "grand plan" for regional stability. Xi, who will be the first Chinese president to visit Pyongyang in 14 years, penned a rare front-page opinion piece in North Korea's official newspaper, touting their "irreplaceable" bond on the eve of this two-day trip. Xi is visiting the country on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as both men face their own protracted negotiations with US President Donald Trump. With his visit, Xi can show that China still has some influence on its Cold War-era ally and play a role in efforts to convince Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme. It could also give the Chinese leader some leverage when he meets Trump to discuss the US-China trade war at the G20 next week in Japan. For Kim, having his powerful next-door neighbour visit will serve as a reminder to Trump that Xi will have his back if the nuclear talks fail for good. In the opinion piece in the Rodong Sinmun -- the official mouthpiece of the North's ruling Workers' Party - Xi said Beijing was willing to draw up a "grand plan" with Pyongyang to achieve permanent stability in East Asia. He also vowed that Beijing would play an active role in "strengthening communication and coordination with North Korea and other relevant parties" to push forward negotiations on the Korean Peninsula. At subway stations in Pyongyang, commuters crowded around newsstands to read Xi's article. It appeared on page one of the Rodong Sinmun, in the bottom right-hand corner. The whole of the top half of the front page was devoted to an editorial calling on citizens to uphold the works of Kim's father and predecessor Kim Jong Il in building up the Workers' Party. "This op-ed is an extremely unusual event," said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and researcher in Seoul. "For Kim, he needed a public endorsement from Xi, so that he could tell his people that 'look, someone as powerful as Xi has our back'," Ahn told AFP. The trip by the leader of the North's key diplomatic ally and main provider of trade and aid has long been awaited, and comes after Kim travelled to China four times for meetings with Xi. China and North Korea have worked to improve relations in the past year from a low point as Beijing backed a series of UN sanctions against its Cold War-era ally over its nuclear activities. Russia and China on Tuesday blocked an American initiative that aimed to halt fuel deliveries to North Korea, which Washington accuses of exceeding its annual limit for 2019, diplomatic sources said. Hu Jintao was the last Chinese president to visit Pyongyang in 2005, when he met Kim's father, Kim Jong Il. Xi, who will be given the honour of a state visit, will pay homage at the capital's Friendship Tower. In recent days soldiers and workers have been sprucing up the tower, a monument to the Chinese troops who saved the North from defeat during the Korean War. On Wednesday, workers repainted white lines on the pavements of central Pyongyang, trimmed grass verges and added fresh coats of pesticide to trees, as broom-wielding students swept away dirt. But no Chinese flags were seen by AFP journalists in the capital. Instead, the red and yellow emblem of the ruling Workers Party -- its colours similar to the Chinese ensign -- flew alongside the national flag to mark the 55th anniversary of Kim Jong Il starting work at the Central Committee. In his op-ed, Xi stressed that this year marks the 70th anniversary of Beijing-Pyongyang relations. "Over the past 70 years we have been unyieldingly advancing forward in the same boat, breaking through rain and wind," Xi wrote. "One can say this friendship is irreplaceable, even with an enormous fortune".

China ready to draw up grand plan with North Korea to achieve stability in East Asia: Xi in letter to Kim Jong-un

A 'suspected explosion' occurred near the China-North Korea border&nbsp;causing a&nbsp;small quake, reports said.&nbsp;

A 'suspected explosion' occurred near the China-North Korea border causing a small quake, reports said.

'Suspected explosion' near China-North Korea border causes small quake

Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States.

Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-says-he-received-a-beautiful-letter-from-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-226360">North Korean leader Kim Jong-un</a>, said Chinese broadcaster CCTV.

The timing is likely to raise eyebrows at the White House as it comes one week before the G20 summit in Japan, where US President Donald Trump expects to meet with Xi to discuss their trade war.

China and North Korea have worked to improve relations in the past year after they deteriorated as Beijing backed a series of UN sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear activities.

The North's leader Kim Jong-un travelled to China -- his country's sole major ally -- four times in the past year to meet Xi.

But Xi had yet to reciprocate until now. It will be the first trip there by a Chinese president since Hu Jintao went in 2005.&nbsp;

With Beijing and Washington at loggerheads over trade, China is keen to remind Trump of its influence in Pyongyang, with whom his nuclear negotiations -- a point of pride for the US president, who faces an election next year -- are also at a deadlock.

"The signal would be that China remains a critical stakeholder," said Jingdong Yuan, a professor specialising in Asia-Pacific security and Chinese foreign policy at the University of Sydney.

"You cannot ignore China and China can play a very important role," he told AFP. Xi could thus use the trip as a "bargaining chip" in the US-China trade war, he added.

According to an informed source in Pyongyang, Beijing was keen to arrange a visit to North Korea ahead of any encounter between Xi and Trump at the G20 summit -- with trip logistics finalised only last month.

In recent days, hundreds of soldiers and workers have been sprucing up the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, pruning bushes and replanting flowerbeds on the approaches to the monument, which commemorates the millions of Chinese troops Mao Zedong sent to save the forces of Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung from defeat during the Korean War.

A detachment of soldiers in white jackets was also seen outside the Liberation War Museum -- which includes a section on the Chinese contribution -- potentially indicating that it may be on Xi's itinerary.

'Four to zero'

It will be Xi's first trip to North Korea since taking power in 2012, though he visited the country as vice president in 2008.

"China and the DPRK are friendly neighbours," CCTV said, adding that Xi and Kim have reached a "series of important consensus" in past meetings and that a new chapter of bilateral relations had begun.

In contrast, Kim Jong-un has gone to China multiple times over the past year -- an unbalanced exchange that has not gone unnoticed in Pyongyang.

According to diplomatic sources in the North Korean capital, after Kim's many trips to meet Xi, there were increasingly strong feelings in Pyongyang that the Chinese leader should reciprocate for reasons of saving face.

"From a North Korean perspective, it's time for Chairman Xi to visit," said John Delury, an expert on US-China relations and Korean Peninsula affairs at Yonsei University in Seoul.

"They do keep score and it's like four to zero," he recently told AFP. "So far, Xi has approached China-North Korea relations very much as a function of US-China relations and kind of calculated in terms of that."

The visit also comes as negotiations between Trump and Kim have soured after the second summit in February broke up without a deal, failing to agree on what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief.

Since then, Kim has accused Washington of acting in "bad faith" and given it until the end of the year to change its approach.

Still, the nuclear situation is "under control for now", said Delury.&nbsp;

"That creates a space, a window where Xi could make a visit without expecting like a missile test the day he leaves or something like that," he said.

Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States.

Xi Jinping will make the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese president in 14 years this week, state media said Monday, as Beijing tightens relations with Pyongyang amid tensions with the United States. Xi will visit Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said Chinese broadcaster CCTV. The timing is likely to raise eyebrows at the White House as it comes one week before the G20 summit in Japan, where US President Donald Trump expects to meet with Xi to discuss their trade war. China and North Korea have worked to improve relations in the past year after they deteriorated as Beijing backed a series of UN sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear activities. The North's leader Kim Jong-un travelled to China -- his country's sole major ally -- four times in the past year to meet Xi. But Xi had yet to reciprocate until now. It will be the first trip there by a Chinese president since Hu Jintao went in 2005. With Beijing and Washington at loggerheads over trade, China is keen to remind Trump of its influence in Pyongyang, with whom his nuclear negotiations -- a point of pride for the US president, who faces an election next year -- are also at a deadlock. "The signal would be that China remains a critical stakeholder," said Jingdong Yuan, a professor specialising in Asia-Pacific security and Chinese foreign policy at the University of Sydney. "You cannot ignore China and China can play a very important role," he told AFP. Xi could thus use the trip as a "bargaining chip" in the US-China trade war, he added. According to an informed source in Pyongyang, Beijing was keen to arrange a visit to North Korea ahead of any encounter between Xi and Trump at the G20 summit -- with trip logistics finalised only last month. In recent days, hundreds of soldiers and workers have been sprucing up the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, pruning bushes and replanting flowerbeds on the approaches to the monument, which commemorates the millions of Chinese troops Mao Zedong sent to save the forces of Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung from defeat during the Korean War. A detachment of soldiers in white jackets was also seen outside the Liberation War Museum -- which includes a section on the Chinese contribution -- potentially indicating that it may be on Xi's itinerary. 'Four to zero' It will be Xi's first trip to North Korea since taking power in 2012, though he visited the country as vice president in 2008. "China and the DPRK are friendly neighbours," CCTV said, adding that Xi and Kim have reached a "series of important consensus" in past meetings and that a new chapter of bilateral relations had begun. In contrast, Kim Jong-un has gone to China multiple times over the past year -- an unbalanced exchange that has not gone unnoticed in Pyongyang. According to diplomatic sources in the North Korean capital, after Kim's many trips to meet Xi, there were increasingly strong feelings in Pyongyang that the Chinese leader should reciprocate for reasons of saving face. "From a North Korean perspective, it's time for Chairman Xi to visit," said John Delury, an expert on US-China relations and Korean Peninsula affairs at Yonsei University in Seoul. "They do keep score and it's like four to zero," he recently told AFP. "So far, Xi has approached China-North Korea relations very much as a function of US-China relations and kind of calculated in terms of that." The visit also comes as negotiations between Trump and Kim have soured after the second summit in February broke up without a deal, failing to agree on what Pyongyang would be willing to give up in exchange for sanctions relief. Since then, Kim has accused Washington of acting in "bad faith" and given it until the end of the year to change its approach. Still, the nuclear situation is "under control for now", said Delury. "That creates a space, a window where Xi could make a visit without expecting like a missile test the day he leaves or something like that," he said.

China's Xi Jinping to visit North Korea this week ahead of G20

China called Friday for North Korean sanctions relief to be discussed at the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/our-stance-will-never-change-even-if-us-seeks-further-talks-north-korea-on-us-sanctions-relief-200370">UN Security Council after US President Donald Trump</a> and Kim Jong Un ended a summit without a deal.

Beijing is the North's main trade partner and sole major ally, but it has backed a raft of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-offered-to-close-yongbyon-nuclear-plant-for-partial-sanctions-relief-during-trump-kim-summit-foreign-minister-200365">UN sanctions following Pyongyang's</a> repeated nuclear and missile tests in recent years.

Both North Korea and the US note that lifting sanctions is an important part of the denuclearisation process, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

"They should be considered simultaneously and resolved together, I think this is a common denominator that should be seized," Lu said at a regular press briefing.

Noting "the positive developments on the peninsula, especially the steps taken by North Korea on denuclearisation," Lu said the UN Security Council should "start discussions on the reversible clauses of the resolutions."

The council should "adjust the sanctions in accordance with the principle of simultaneous reciprocity," he said.

Trump and Kim ended their summit in Hanoi on Thursday without a deal, with the two sides at an impasse over the sanctions imposed on the North.

Trump insisted Pyongyang wanted a lifting of all sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons programmes.

But North Korea's foreign minister said Pyongyang had only wanted some of the measures eased, and that its proposal to close "all the nuclear production facilities" at its Yongbyon complex was its best and final offer.

Meanwhile, a senior Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs official, Yang Jiechi, spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the summit on the phone, the foreign ministry said.

Pompeo told Yang that Washington will maintain contact with the North Korean side and that the United States "highly appreciates the positive role China played on the Korean peninsula issue," the ministry said in a statement.

Yang said the Korean Peninsula issue is complex and "difficult to solve overnight."

He urged the two sides to "maintain patience" and "persevere in pushing forward the peace talks."

China is willing to continue playing a "constructive role," he said.

Kim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping four times in the past year, most recently in January, and is expected to take the train back across China on Saturday on his way home following his Vietnam visit. 
&nbsp;

China called Friday for North Korean sanctions relief to be discussed at the UN Security Council after US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un ended a summit without a deal.

China called Friday for North Korean sanctions relief to be discussed at the UN Security Council after US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un ended a summit without a deal. Beijing is the North's main trade partner and sole major ally, but it has backed a raft of UN sanctions following Pyongyang's repeated nuclear and missile tests in recent years. Both North Korea and the US note that lifting sanctions is an important part of the denuclearisation process, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang. "They should be considered simultaneously and resolved together, I think this is a common denominator that should be seized," Lu said at a regular press briefing. Noting "the positive developments on the peninsula, especially the steps taken by North Korea on denuclearisation," Lu said the UN Security Council should "start discussions on the reversible clauses of the resolutions." The council should "adjust the sanctions in accordance with the principle of simultaneous reciprocity," he said. Trump and Kim ended their summit in Hanoi on Thursday without a deal, with the two sides at an impasse over the sanctions imposed on the North. Trump insisted Pyongyang wanted a lifting of all sanctions imposed on it over its banned weapons programmes. But North Korea's foreign minister said Pyongyang had only wanted some of the measures eased, and that its proposal to close "all the nuclear production facilities" at its Yongbyon complex was its best and final offer. Meanwhile, a senior Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs official, Yang Jiechi, spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the summit on the phone, the foreign ministry said. Pompeo told Yang that Washington will maintain contact with the North Korean side and that the United States "highly appreciates the positive role China played on the Korean peninsula issue," the ministry said in a statement. Yang said the Korean Peninsula issue is complex and "difficult to solve overnight." He urged the two sides to "maintain patience" and "persevere in pushing forward the peace talks." China is willing to continue playing a "constructive role," he said. Kim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping four times in the past year, most recently in January, and is expected to take the train back across China on Saturday on his way home following his Vietnam visit.

North Korean sanctions relief should be discussed at UNSC: China

Canadian<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/huawei-cfo-arrest-fallout-after-ex-diplomat-another-canadian-national-goes-missing-after-questioning-by-chinese-authorities-183587"> Michael Spavor </a>has jet skied with Kim Jong Un, felt the ground shake from a North Korean nuclear test, and now it appears, been detained by Chinese authorities.

Spavor, a business consultant with deep ties to North Korea, is being investigated on suspicion of endangering state security, Chinese state media reported. The Canadian government says it has been unable to contact him and phone calls, messages and emails to Spavor went unanswered on Thursday.

When North Korean leader Kim launched a bid to engage the world and attract international investment this year, Spavor was uniquely positioned to play a role.

As one of the few Westerners with personal ties to the North Korea government and Kim himself, Spavor has been trying to drum up international interest in investing in North Korean economic projects, in anticipation of sanctions being eased amid warming ties.

Spavor is best known in the region for his relationship with Kim Jong Un, and his role in facilitating a visit to Pyongyang by American basketball star Dennis Rodman in 2013.

"That was the most amazing experience I've had in my life .. We hung out for three days," Spavor told Reuters in a 2017 interview.

Images from that time show Spavor sharing cocktails with Kim on board one of his private boats, after they had been jet-skiing in the bay next to Wonsan, one of Kim's pet economic development areas.

In 2015, Spavor was involved in efforts to attract more than $150 million in foreign funds for Wonsan, including $39 million to fund a new brewery.

Special access

The investigation into Spavor follows the detention in Beijing on Monday of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who Chinese state media report is being investigated on the same charges.

China has reacted angrily to Canada's arrest on Dec. 1 of Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies, and Spavor's investigation is likely to further escalate the diplomatic row.

Now based in the border city of Dandong in China, Spavor has been cultivating ties between potential Chinese investors and North Korean officials.

Spavor's experience with North Korea dates to at least 2001. In 2005, he lived in Pyongyang for several months teaching at a school run by a Canadian non-governmental organisation, according to the website for his organisation, Paektu Cultural Exchange.

Since then he's mastered the Korean language - with a distinctly North Korean accent - and maintained regular contact with many people in North Korea, including Kim Jong Un.

Spavor's contacts in the isolated and tightly controlled nation have allowed him access when other outsiders were blocked.

In February, North Korea barred most foreign media from covering a large military parade in downtown Pyongyang. Spavor was front and centre in the parade area, streaming online video of tanks rolling by as North Koreans celebrated.

Gregarious and affable, Spavor is a fixture in the small community of North Korea watchers, with analysts and journalists often seeking his rare insight into the country.

Spavor keeps a number of photos of his meetings with Kim on his phone, and describes the North Korean leader as charismatic and smart.

But Spavor also is discrete about his contacts with the controversial regime, declining to comment on politics and noting that his work focuses on cultural and business ties.

"For me, encouraging these sports engagement events, these nonpolitical friendship interactions, promoting these kind of events can show people that Americans and Koreans can get along very well," he said in the 2017 interview. "I guess if we can continue to increase these exchanges, then we hope that has an effect on politicians too."

Sanctions

But North Korea's weapons programmes in defiance of U.N. resolutions and dismal human rights reputation has always been a lingering presence.

In September 2017, Spavor was among those in the Chinese border city of Yanji who said they felt the jolt from North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test.

Spavor told Reuters at the time he was eating brunch when he felt the building shake for about five seconds, before the city's air raid sirens sounded.

Ahead of a major publicity push by North Korea around its foundation day events in early September, Spavor told Reuters he was taking dozens of Chinese investors and entrepreneurs into North Korea to "attend matchmaking sessions with various government officials and stakeholders as well as visiting existing and future development zones".

There have been some signs that enforcement of sanctions has eased amid diplomatic outreach, but Washington has said sanctions will remain in force until more progress is made toward denuclearising North Korea.

When asked about the sanctions in September, Spavor said his clients "are aware of the current sanctions and are waiting for potential investment projects and other business for when the Chinese government gives the green light on business as usual."

In his latest posts on social media on Monday, Spavor said he was on his way to the South Korean capital of Seoul for new consulting work and meetings with friends.

His friends say he never arrived.

Canadian Michael Spavor has jet skied with Kim Jong Un, felt the ground shake from a North Korean nuclear test, and now it appears, been detained by Chinese authorities.

Canadian Michael Spavor has jet skied with Kim Jong Un, felt the ground shake from a North Korean nuclear test, and now it appears, been detained by Chinese authorities. Spavor, a business consultant with deep ties to North Korea, is being investigated on suspicion of endangering state security, Chinese state media reported. The Canadian government says it has been unable to contact him and phone calls, messages and emails to Spavor went unanswered on Thursday. When North Korean leader Kim launched a bid to engage the world and attract international investment this year, Spavor was uniquely positioned to play a role. As one of the few Westerners with personal ties to the North Korea government and Kim himself, Spavor has been trying to drum up international interest in investing in North Korean economic projects, in anticipation of sanctions being eased amid warming ties. Spavor is best known in the region for his relationship with Kim Jong Un, and his role in facilitating a visit to Pyongyang by American basketball star Dennis Rodman in 2013. "That was the most amazing experience I've had in my life .. We hung out for three days," Spavor told Reuters in a 2017 interview. Images from that time show Spavor sharing cocktails with Kim on board one of his private boats, after they had been jet-skiing in the bay next to Wonsan, one of Kim's pet economic development areas. In 2015, Spavor was involved in efforts to attract more than $150 million in foreign funds for Wonsan, including $39 million to fund a new brewery. Special access The investigation into Spavor follows the detention in Beijing on Monday of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig, who Chinese state media report is being investigated on the same charges. China has reacted angrily to Canada's arrest on Dec. 1 of Chinese executive Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies, and Spavor's investigation is likely to further escalate the diplomatic row. Now based in the border city of Dandong in China, Spavor has been cultivating ties between potential Chinese investors and North Korean officials. Spavor's experience with North Korea dates to at least 2001. In 2005, he lived in Pyongyang for several months teaching at a school run by a Canadian non-governmental organisation, according to the website for his organisation, Paektu Cultural Exchange. Since then he's mastered the Korean language - with a distinctly North Korean accent - and maintained regular contact with many people in North Korea, including Kim Jong Un. Spavor's contacts in the isolated and tightly controlled nation have allowed him access when other outsiders were blocked. In February, North Korea barred most foreign media from covering a large military parade in downtown Pyongyang. Spavor was front and centre in the parade area, streaming online video of tanks rolling by as North Koreans celebrated. Gregarious and affable, Spavor is a fixture in the small community of North Korea watchers, with analysts and journalists often seeking his rare insight into the country. Spavor keeps a number of photos of his meetings with Kim on his phone, and describes the North Korean leader as charismatic and smart. But Spavor also is discrete about his contacts with the controversial regime, declining to comment on politics and noting that his work focuses on cultural and business ties. "For me, encouraging these sports engagement events, these nonpolitical friendship interactions, promoting these kind of events can show people that Americans and Koreans can get along very well," he said in the 2017 interview. "I guess if we can continue to increase these exchanges, then we hope that has an effect on politicians too." Sanctions But North Korea's weapons programmes in defiance of U.N. resolutions and dismal human rights reputation has always been a lingering presence. In September 2017, Spavor was among those in the Chinese border city of Yanji who said they felt the jolt from North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Spavor told Reuters at the time he was eating brunch when he felt the building shake for about five seconds, before the city's air raid sirens sounded. Ahead of a major publicity push by North Korea around its foundation day events in early September, Spavor told Reuters he was taking dozens of Chinese investors and entrepreneurs into North Korea to "attend matchmaking sessions with various government officials and stakeholders as well as visiting existing and future development zones". There have been some signs that enforcement of sanctions has eased amid diplomatic outreach, but Washington has said sanctions will remain in force until more progress is made toward denuclearising North Korea. When asked about the sanctions in September, Spavor said his clients "are aware of the current sanctions and are waiting for potential investment projects and other business for when the Chinese government gives the green light on business as usual." In his latest posts on social media on Monday, Spavor said he was on his way to the South Korean capital of Seoul for new consulting work and meetings with friends. His friends say he never arrived.

Canadian businessman Spavor being investigated: Chinese state media

As Kim Jong Un met China's President Xi in Beijing in a secret, President Trump in a tweet said the North Korean leader will do "what is right and move toward peace".

China said Kim had pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula while North Korean state media said Xi had accepted "with pleasure" an invitation to visit the North.

Trump and Kim are set to meet each other in May for talks amid tensions in the Korean peninsula.

Trump in a series of tweets last year had slammed North Korea's alleged nuclear programme as both leaders traded insults openly.

However, after Kim expressed his country's willingness to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics in South Korea tensions cooled in the region.

Trump later surprised everyone declaring that he was ready for talk with the controversial North Korean leader.

In his tweet, Trump said: "Received message last night from Xi Jinping of China that his meeting with Kim Jong Un went very well and that Kim looks forward to his meeting with me."

However, the US president added that in the "meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost." "For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility," Trump said.

"Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting," the US president declared.

&nbsp

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s2G4pvMRmk0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Trump and Kim are set to meet each other in May for talks amid tensions in the Korean peninsula.

As Kim Jong Un met China's President Xi in Beijing in a secret, President Trump in a tweet said the North Korean leader will do "what is right and move toward peace". China said Kim had pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula while North Korean state media said Xi had accepted "with pleasure" an invitation to visit the North. Trump and Kim are set to meet each other in May for talks amid tensions in the Korean peninsula. Trump in a series of tweets last year had slammed North Korea's alleged nuclear programme as both leaders traded insults openly. However, after Kim expressed his country's willingness to send a delegation for the Winter Olympics in South Korea tensions cooled in the region. Trump later surprised everyone declaring that he was ready for talk with the controversial North Korean leader. In his tweet, Trump said: "Received message last night from Xi Jinping of China that his meeting with Kim Jong Un went very well and that Kim looks forward to his meeting with me." However, the US president added that in the "meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost." "For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility," Trump said. "Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting," the US president declared.

After Xi, Kim meeting, Trump says North Korean leader 'will do what is right for his people and for humanity'

China will pay the biggest price from the new UN sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country but will always enforce the resolution, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said.

&quot;Owing to China&#39;s traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution,&quot; China&rsquo;s foreign ministry cited Wang as saying. 
 
&quot;But in order to protect the international non-proliferation system and regional peace and stability, China will as before fully and strictly properly implement the entire contents of the relevant resolution.&quot;

The <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/un-imposes-tough-new-sanctions-on-north-korea-18641">UN Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions</a> on Saturday in response to Pyongyang&#39;s long-range ballistic missile tests on July 4 and July 28.

The new sanctions could slash North Korea&rsquo;s $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.

The latest resolution targets North Korea&#39;s primary exports -- including coal, iron and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean labourers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-ready-to-teach-us-severe-lesson-18683">North Korea ready to teach US &#39;severe lesson&#39;</a>

Pyongyang on Monday called the UN sanctions &quot;fabricated&quot; and warned there would be &quot;strong follow-up measures&quot; and acts of justice. It said the resolution showed the United Nations had abused its authority.

 
&nbsp;

China will pay the biggest price from the new UN sanctions because of its close economic relationship with North Korea but will always enforce the resolution, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said

China will pay the biggest price from the new UN sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country but will always enforce the resolution, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said. "Owing to China's traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution," China’s foreign ministry cited Wang as saying. "But in order to protect the international non-proliferation system and regional peace and stability, China will as before fully and strictly properly implement the entire contents of the relevant resolution." The UN Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions on Saturday in response to Pyongyang's long-range ballistic missile tests on July 4 and July 28. The new sanctions could slash North Korea’s $3 billion annual export revenue by a third. The latest resolution targets North Korea's primary exports -- including coal, iron and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean labourers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures. Also read: North Korea ready to teach US 'severe lesson' Pyongyang on Monday called the UN sanctions "fabricated" and warned there would be "strong follow-up measures" and acts of justice. It said the resolution showed the United Nations had abused its authority.

China says willing to pay price for new UN sanctions against North Korea