Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Monday insisted that China would fully implement United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2371 despite the negative economic impact, in a speech at a regional security forum in Manila.

“Owing to China’s traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution,” Wang said in a statement carried by Reuters on Tuesday.

“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 is North Korea’s largest