China threatens North Korea aid cut over atomic test

North Korea’s sole major ally China will decrease aid to Pyongyang if it goes ahead with a planned nuclear test, state-run media said in an unusually frank warning on Friday.

China is the North’s leading energy supplier and trade partner and is seen as one of the few nations able to influence Pyongyang’s behaviour, with the comments adding a distinctive edge to its typical official calls for stability and dialogue.

“If North Korea engages in further nuclear tests, China will not hesitate to reduce its assistance to North Korea,” the Global Times said in an editorial.

“Just let North Korea be ‘angry’. We can’t sit by and do nothing just because we are worried it might impact the Sino-North Korean relationship.”

The same comments appeared in the Chinese version of the article. The paper is owned by the People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling party, and normally takes a nationalistic tone on foreign relations.

The editorial came after Pyongyang reacted furiously to a UN Security Council resolution this week condemning its rocket launch last month and imposing expanded sanctions.