Donald Trump came out with a stern warning in response to North Korean Hydrogen Bomb Test. Through a series of Tweets, Trump said that US was considering cutting economic ties with all countries that do business with Pyongyang. “The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” Trump said in a tweet. However, the warning was an intimation to China – which is the ally of North Korea for some 90 per cent of that country’s total trade. A fact that may surprise you is that more than 80 countries had traded with Pyongyang in 2016, including India and Pakistan. BBC, quoting Korea’s Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), reports that North Korea has a long list of trading partners. Apart from India and China, the list includes Russia, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Portugal, France, Thailand, and Philippines. However, these countries’ contribution to Pyongyang is very less or decreasing. It’s mainly Beijing which buys the North Korean exports.
The country is mainly buying coal and other minerals from Pyongyang, and crucially supplying food and fuel for its citizens, BBC reports. However, it should be noted that figures from 2016 do not clearly reflect what’s going on now, as China banned North Korean coal in February. So, when Trump warns cutting economic ties with countries trading with Pyongyang, it has to include China.
As per BBC, US bought more than $450 bn worth of goods from China last year and exported $115 bn to China. Cutting of trade ties will mean a serious blow to Chinese exports – something on which the country rely for its growth. Given the facts mentioned above. Earlier too, Trump had repeatedly insisted China to make efforts so that North Korea halts its nuclear and missile development.