In July 2017, unconfirmed reports circulated about dramatically fluctuating gasoline and diesel prices in North Korea. Although these reports may have originated from within the defector community and were largely unverified, speculation mounted that the Chinese state oil company, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), would suspend fuel sales to North Korea. According to the reports, this would be China’s response to the continued testing of ballistic missiles by North Korea.
1 This move would have significant policy and economic implications as North Korea acquires the majority of its petroleum products from China with a significantly small quantity coming from Russia. Analysis of satellite imagery from around this period, however, indicates that a suspension of any significant length does not appear to have happened.
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