UN sanctions on N Korea coal exports to hurt 2017 export earnings

Sanctions imposed by a 2016 resolution of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in retaliation for unauthorised nuclear tests by North Korea, will probably see the rogue East Asian country’s coal exports fall to a third its value five-year average. Analysis by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that North Korea, under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un, stands to earn coal export earnings of only about $400-million in 2017, down from $1.2-billion, or about 40% of the embattled country’s total export revenue in 2016.