North Korea crisis could alter energy trade flows

The North Korean crisis has already had a significant impact on the coal trade in northern Asia. If the crisis escalates, it could result in more dramatic changes in global commodity flows even if the standoff does not result in direct conflict.

China’s commerce ministry banned imports of coal, iron, lead and iron ore from North Korea after the UN imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang in mid-August. The embargoes were a response to a series of missile tests and, more recently, the detonation of a hydrogen...