BEIJING -- China will suspend coal imports from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the rest of 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said Saturday.

The ministry said in a statement on its website that the suspension, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2321, will be effective from Feb 19 to Dec 31 this year.

The UN Security Council adopted the resolution on Nov 30 that tightened sanctions on the DPRK in response to its fifth nuclear test on Sept 9 last year.