China is cracking down on key imports to its ally North Korea amid nuclear tests and threats by the Stalinist dictatorship.
Inspectors at the China-North Korea border are conducting more thorough checks on cargo — holding up the transport of such staples as rice and cooking oil to North Korea, where food shortages are common.
But the delays do not seem to have fazed North Korean leader Kim Jong- Un. He continues to bait the United States and South Korea, recently ordering a top special-forces unit to strike at “lightning speed” once war breaks out, North Korean state media reported.
Kim has also threatened the United States and South Korea with nuclear attacks because of UN sanctions following the North’s third nuclear test.
The pressure from China and a UN probe of alleged human-rights abuses have observers hoping that the North will ultimately back down, according to Britain’s Sun newspaper.