China has released a list of technologies and goods banned from export to North Korea on the grounds they could be used to produce chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, its Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday.

But today a spokesman for the PRC’s foreign ministry told Reuters the list was not intended to “punish” Pyongyang and was intended “to encourage denuclearization on the Korean peninsula”.

China’s intention was to demonstrate its “strict” adherence to enforcement of the sanctions against North Korea, he added.

The ban, which came into effect immediately, includes some 236 items and aims to crack down on “dual