Beijing restricts trade with Pyongyang

Beijing has banned imports of iron ore from Pyongyang as well as exports of jet fuel and other oil products used to make rocket fuel, outlining China's restriction on trade with the country on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Commerce published a list on its website, saying it also would ban imports of gold and rare-earth elements from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in line with new UN sanctions.

The majority of the DPRK's exports to China are minerals, and its exports to China account for about 90 percent of the country's total export volume, according to Lyu Chao, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.