Secretary of state Rex Tillerson, on a swing through Southeast Asia in August, urged countries to do more to cut funding streams for North Korea. A UN report in September said North Korea had diversified its coal exports to other countries after the China ban. Malaysia bought $3.4 million worth of coal in March and $16.6 million worth of coal tar products, data showed. The March purchase was the first time Malaysia had bought coal from North Korea since at least 2012. While imports have stopped, Malaysia has continued exports to North Korea.

Source: bd News24 October 13, 2017 06:11 UTC