North Korea Gasoline Price Surge

The small communist country gets a lot of its fuel (statistics are hard to come by in NK) from a Chinese supplied pipeline. So, the reasoning is, if Xi really wants to immediately hurt and/or influence North Korea, he can, and retail gasoline prices in the communist capital would be a sign this is happening. Here is a VOA report on this exact event.

Gasoline prices in North Korea have reportedly soared amid speculation China may limit oil supplies to the country in a bid to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear ambitions. Citing a North Korean diplomat, Voice of America reports gasoline prices have spiked more than 85 percent recently. The diplomat also said there are cases where gas stations limit purchases to ten or 20 liters per customer. Some North Korea watchers say the price surge comes as the regime is saving its gasoline stockpiles as China is reportedly reviewing its next step.

I think it’s a sign Xi is attempting to make good on his 100-day plan, regardless of the last missile launch. Here is a VOA report on that:

It has emerged that Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly asked his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at their summit last month to put off any specific action by the U.S. for a (100) hundred days so Beijing can strengthen its sanctions on North Korea. Citing numerous sources, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported Monday, that the two countries agreed to a 100-day plan on the security front similar to the one aimed at equalizing their trade imbalance. The paper said Trump asked the Chinese leader to strengthen sanctions on Pyongyang, or Chinese firms that do business with the regime will be included on Washington’s sanctions list. To that, President Xi reportedly asked for a 100-day plan, where China will push hard on North Korea for a solution to its nuclear threats. However, the paper added that with North Korea’s missile provocations over the past few weeks, it’s unclear whether the plan is still in place.

Exactly. If the missiles keep going off, I don’t care how high the cost of gasoline gets, Trump is not a patient man.