China begins inspecting cargos bound for N. Korea

China has begun inspecting cargo trucks traveling across its border with North Korea as part of apparent moves to enforce U.N. sanctions on the North, media reports and residents said Tuesday.

The news came amid increasing questions over whether China will fully honor a U.N. resolution imposing non-military sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear test last week.

Chinese customs officials were seen opening trucks bound for North Korea in the border city of Dandong on Monday and examining their cargos and passengers, local residents said.

Some customs officials climbed into trucks but it wasn't verified whether they opened each container.

The Oriental Morning Post, a Chinese newspaper, also said China strengthened its inspection of cargoes on ships bound for the North at its eastern border port city of Hunchun. The report said China banned tourists from entering North Korea through bridges.

The newspaper said there were no reports of increased inspections at other Chinese cities near the border with North Korea. But it was the first Chinese media report on China bolstering inspections of cargo headed to the North.

The U.N. resolution, drafted by the U.S, rules out military options but bans trade with North Korea in materials linked to the country's weapons of mass destruction programs and orders member states to freeze assets supporting such programs.

The wording in the resolution that authorizes inspections of cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea was watered down at the request of China. Instead of using the term "require," the resolution requests member states to comply.

China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, said his country will implement the U.N. resolution and inspect cargo from North Korea, but repeated opposition to any naval interdiction of ships.

"This is a resolution we have to implement," Wang told reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York. "The question was raised whether China will do inspections. Inspection yet, but inspection is different than interdiction and interception. I think different countries will do it different ways."

U.S. officials were confident that China would enforce the U.N. sanctions.

"I feel that we have a great deal of similar thinking with China. I think this nuclear test has brought China much closer to us," Christopher Hill, the chief U.S. nuclear negotiator, said Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is scheduled to travel to Japan, South Korea and China, said her Asian trip that starts this week is to "rally the support of our friends and allies" in the region.

Also on Monday in China, dozens of soldiers were seen continuing their work to build a barbed wire and concrete fence along parts of its border with North Korea.

China has been constructing wire fences 2.5-4 meters tall amid speculation that China is taking measures to prepare for a possible influx of refugees if the North Korean regime collapses.

North Korea defiantly conducted its first-ever nuclear test on Oct. 9, despite repeated international warnings. The U.N. Security Council approved sanctions against the North six days later, but regional powers remained at odds over how to enforce the punitive actions.

South Korea said it would continue key reconciliation projects with the North, which critics say might have funneled much-needed funds to Pyongyang's nuclear programs. China is also opposed to excessively harsh measures, believing they might further destabilize the region.

Beijing, Oct. 17 (Yonhap News)