As of 19 February 2017, China is to ban all coal imports from North Korea. The suspension is expected to last until 31 December 2017, as stated by The Ministry of Commerce. According to Reuters, a recent coal shipment worth US$1 million was rejected at Wenzhou port, China.
North Korea was China’s fourth largest coal supplier in 2016, with non-lignite imports of 22.48 million t.
In December 2016, the country banned coal from North Korea in order to follow UN sanctions, but this ban exempted any coal that was already in transit or any imports that were for “the people’s wellbeing”. This latest ban includes coal already in transit.
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