N. Korea coal imports slashed in January: China

China slashed its North Korea coal imports in January, data showed Friday, reflecting a hardening towards the regime even before the recent snap decision to stop buying the fuel from Pyongyang.

China imported 1.48 million tons of North Korean coal last month, down from 2 million tons in December, Chinese customs authorities said, a fall of 28 percent over the previous month.

The UN Security Council slapped North Korea with sanctions -- including limits on coal imports -- late last year in response to the country's most recent nuclear test.

Nevertheless, Chinese imports of the country's coal actually increased in December -- despite a decision to stop imports in the second half of the month -- an inconvenient truth that raised questions about Beijing's commitment to punishing its northern neighbour.

But the new year seems to have brought about a change in Beijing's attitude.

In addition to the January drop, China last week announced the suspension of all coal imports from North Korea for the rest of the year, denying the North a major source of foreign currency.

The move came after Pyongyang defied the world two weeks ago with a missile test and suspicions that it had orchestrated the assassination a day later of supreme leader Kim Jong-Un's half-brother in Malaysia.

China is the North's sole major ally and by far its largest trading partner, with coal the biggest component of its purchases according to figures from Chinese Customs. Beijing last year imported more than 22 million tonnes worth nearly $1.2 billion.

While Beijing and Pyongyang have a relationship forged in the blood of the Korean War, ties have begun to fray in recent years, with China increasingly exasperated by its wayward neighbour's nuclear antics.

The UN Security Council has imposed six sets of sanctions since Pyongyang first tested an atomic device in 2006.

Beijing traditionally ensured that Security Council resolutions on sanctions against Pyongyang included humanitarian exemptions, and had continued to purchase huge amounts of North Korean coal.

But the latest round of penalties had no such clause.