BEIJING — China is “highly concerned” about a reported ship-to-ship transfer on the high seas that could violate U.N. sanctions on North Korea and has launched an investigation, the foreign ministry said Thursday. “China is highly concerned about the situation and we are in the middle of an investigation,” Geng said at a regularly scheduled news conference. Though China is North Korea’s biggest trading partner and a traditional friend, ties between them have soured over the North’s nuclear and missile tests and its refusal to return to Chinese-hosted denuclearization talks. China has signed on to increasingly tough United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, and Geng said Beijing recently issued a statement explicitly banning ship-to-ship transfers in accordance with U.N. resolutions. “China’s sanctions on North Korea are harsh and they are complete,” Zhu said.

Source: National Post February 22, 2018 09:13 UTC