China Bans North Korea Exports

North Korea received a slap on the wrist over its budding weapons program from longtime ally China, which banned certain exports to Pyongyang over fears that the materials could be used for nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. China published a 236-page list of prohibited exports just days after new satellite images from North Korea indicated that the country may be resuming its production of plutonium at a complex Pyongyang had pledged to shut down six years ago. A Chinese expert on North Korea put it bluntly: “China is increasingly unsatisfied with North Korea’s actions.” The list also comes just days after Beijing invited North Korea and other countries, including the U.S., to talks to persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear capabilities.