Beijing on Thursday claimed it had fulfilled its UN obligations to limit imports of North Korean coal, despite trade data from Chinese customs showing otherwise.

Speaking at a regular foreign ministry press briefing, spokesperson Hua Chunying implied China’s December imports of North Korean coal were not in breach on UN resolutions intended to reduce trade in the DPRK’s most valuable export commodity.

“Competent authorities of China issued a statement on 9 December, immediately after the adoption of Resolution 2321 by the Security Council, ordering the suspension of coal imports from the DPRK until 31 December 2016,” Hua said.

“The Chinese