Willing to pay economic price for regional peace

China will pay the biggest price from the new UN sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country, but will always enforce the resolutions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Speaking at a regional security forum in Manila on Monday, Wang said the new resolution showed China and the international community's opposition to North Korea's continued missile tests, the foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday.

"Owing to China's traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution," the statement cited Wang as saying.

"But in order to protect the international non-proliferation system and regional peace and stability, China will, as before, fully and strictly properly implement the entire contents of the relevant resolution."

China appreciated comments earlier this month by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that the United States does not seek to topple the North Korean government and would like dialogue with Pyongyang at some point, Wang added.

The latest UN resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean labourers currently working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

US President Donald Trump praised other nations for addressing North Korea's missile programme.

Meanwhile, Japan yesterday warned against the acute threat posed by North Korea's weapons programmes as Pyongyang's continued series of missile and nuclear tests, in defiance of UN sanctions, brings technological progress to the reclusive state.

"What this is going to do is send a very strong message and a united message," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told NBC's "Today" programme in an interview yesterday.

North Korea has made no secret of its plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States and has ignored international calls to halt its nuclear and missile programmes.