中国叫停进口朝鲜煤炭

China has banned coal imports from North Korea until the end of 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday, after a week in which Pyongyang tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile and carried out an assassination in Malaysia.

中国商务部上周六表示，中国本年度暂停进口朝鲜原产煤炭。在做出此决定的一周前，朝鲜方面试射了一枚中程弹道导弹，还涉嫌在马来西亚实施了一次暗杀活动。

Kim Jong Nam the brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, was killed by two female assailants in the Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday. He had been living under Beijing’s protection in Macau, the gambling enclave and former Portuguese colony.

上周一，朝鲜领导人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的同父异母长兄金正男(Kim Jong Nam)在吉隆坡机场被两名女刺客杀害。此前，金正男一直居住在澳门，受到北京方面的保护。澳门是葡萄牙前殖民地，是唯一允许赌博的中国行政区。

The death of the older Mr Kim follows the 2013 execution of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was believed to favour closer ties with China.

在金正男被害之前，金正恩于2013年处决了他的姑父张成泽(Jang Song Thaek)，据信此人支持与中国发展更紧密的关系。

China is North Korea’s main trading partner, and coal is one of its main imports from the country. Although China has co-operated with UN sanctions following past provocations from North Korea, it also argues against completely isolating the reclusive country for fear a crisis could send millions of refugees flooding across the border.

中国是朝鲜的主要贸易伙伴，煤炭是其对华出口的主要产品之一。尽管中国在朝鲜以往采取挑衅行动之后配合联合国(UN)对其实施制裁，但中国也反对彻底孤立这个封闭的国家，担心一场危机可能导致数百万难民涌入中国境内。

This is not China’s first ban on coal from its impoverished neighbour. In December, to formally comply with UN sanctions, it banned coal from North Korea for the remainder of 2016 but exempted any coal already in transit. A sharp surge in Chinese coal prices in 2016 attracted 22.5m tonnes from North Korea, up 15 per cent from the year before.

这并非中国首次禁止从这个贫困的邻国进口煤炭。去年12月，为了正式执行联合国制裁措施，中国在当年剩余时间暂停进口朝鲜原产煤炭，但海关已接受申报但尚未办理放行手续的煤炭不受影响。2016年中国煤炭价格大幅上涨，吸引了来自朝鲜的2250万吨煤炭，比上年增长15%。

The short statement from the Ministry of Commerce said that the 2017 ban was in accordance with the UN sanctions announced last year. This time, it said the ban would include coal already in transit.

中国商务部的简短声明表示，2017年的禁令符合去年宣布的联合国制裁。商务部称，这次禁令的执行对象涵盖海关已接受申报但尚未办理放行手续的煤炭。

Additional reporting by Archie Zhang

张祺(Archie Zhang)北京补充报道