China bans tech exports to North Korea with potential to develop weapons of mass destruction

Particle accelerators, centrifuges and seismic monitoring equipment among equipment barred from sale to Pyongyang to help rein in its nuclear programme

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North Korea launches a medium-and-long range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-12. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:06am, 9 Apr 2018Updated: 10:44pm, 9 Apr 2018

China has banned exports to North Korea of items that could have dual uses in helping to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing released a list of 32 banned materials, technologies and equipment on Monday, amid international concerns over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

The list includes particle accelerators, centrifuges, seismic monitoring equipment, ring-shaped magnets and radiation-detection devices.

The list is in line with a UN Security Council resolution adopted in September to rein in North Korea’s nuclear programme.

The list also bars the export to North Korea of other equipment and weaponry, including rocket launchers, submarine equipment, optical censors and lasers.

A truck returns from North Korea to China on the Friendship Bridge at the Chinese border city of Dandong. Photo: AFP

The ministry said the bans were effective immediately.

North Korea expressed its willingness to denuclearise the Korean peninsula last month ahead of a planned meeting between its leader, Kim Jong-un, and US President Donald Trump.

Kim also visited Beijing last month, telling Chinese President Xi Jinping that North Korea was committed to denuclearisation as long as South Korea and the US showed sincerity.