China valued its North Korean coal imports at $121 million in January, more than one-quarter of the total currently allowed under UN resolutions on the DPRK, data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) shows.

Chinese imports of the North’s most lucrative commodity have come under scrutiny since the UN limited member states from importing coal.

In November last year UN resolution 2321 set a yearly cap on DPRK coal shipments of “$400,870,018 or 7,500,000 metric tons per year, whichever was lower.”

Then in February Beijing announced it would suspend imports of North Korean coal for