North Korea bought at least $640 million in luxury goods from China in 2017, South Korea lawmaker says

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea imported at least $640 million (490 million pounds) worth of luxury goods from China last year, in defiance of U.N. sanctions outlawing such trade over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, a South Korean lawmaker said on Monday.

The United States has urged strict implementation of sanctions as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign which Washington has credited with bringing impoverished North Korea to the negotiating table.