China's imports of North Korean goods nosedived 22.3 percent on-year in April, data showed Tuesday, after tightened U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang started to bite.

The Chinese customs data was compiled by the Beijing unit of South Korea's Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

The plunge in the imports of North Korean goods suggested that China, the North's economic lifeline, has been strictly implementing the latest U.N. sanctions, which were adopted in early March following the North's fourth nuclear test in early January and long range missile launch a month later. (Yonhap)