Coal gasification may have freed supplies of imported fuel for the North Korean military, among other uses, experts said. A fresh drive since 2016 to generate chemical products from coal was also designed “to allow them to face down sanctions—in perpetuity if necessary,” said Peter Ward, who studies North Korea’s economy at Seoul National University. Growing Need North Korean imports of refined oil, fertilizers and organic chemicals—many of which can be made through coal gasification—were declining even before the latest U.N. sanctions. *Excluding crude oil **Chemical and mineral fertilizer only Source: International Trade Centre calculations based on U.N. Comtrade statistics China, North Korea’s longtime ally, has provided technology and expertise for the coal-conversion efforts, according to Chinese companies. One said in July that it is supplying a large coal gasifier designed to produce 40,000 cubic meters an hour of synthetic gas to an industrial zone north of Pyongyang. That […]