North Korea stopped gasoline sales

At the end of September, China stopped oil imports into the country and the measures were due to a deficit. North Korea stopped gasoline sales. The reason is the fuel shortage after China stopped oil imports in the country at the end of September. Only representatives of the elite and elected military have the right to fill their cars, Japanese publication Asahi writes. The Pyongyang regime has dropped the ban on gas station sales at the end of September, according to a familiar source, the newspaper said. This move has clearly been taken to prepare the nation for the impact of US and Chinese economic sanctions in response to the repeated launch of North Korean ballistic missiles and a series of nuclear tests.

The governments of Japan, the United States and South Korea use reconnaissance satellites to confirm whether and how to ban the import of gasoline into North Korea. Only a few hundred of the senior members of the ruling Korean Workers' Party, along with senior government and military officials, still have the right to buy gasoline, says the source of the Japanese edition. It is unclear whether there are any restrictions on the sale of fuel to taxis and buses. Yet at the beginning of the year, gas storage and hiding in North Korea began, pending the international community to impose economic sanctions. At that time, gasoline prices have tripled. 

North Korea was hit by new sanctions after the sixth nuclear test in September this year. The measures include a limit on annual imports into North Korea of ​​refined petroleum products such as petrol and oils up to 2 million barrels or the equivalent of about 270,000 tonnes of crude oil. Earlier, the North Korean government has instructed senior officials to accumulate reserves of another 1 million tons of crude oil to prepare for this opportunity. According to South Korean sources, North Korea's annual consumption is in the range of 700,000 to 900,000 tonnes. The country also has 1 million tons of stocks in the event of war. The ban on the sale of gasoline eliminates long queues that are usually formed at gas stations in the country, according to intelligence satellites used by Japan, the United States and South Korea.

A source from North Korea says: "Gasoline is not sold regardless of how much money is offered".