Editing Economy of North Korea (section)

===Mining===
{{Main|Mining in North Korea}}
According to a 2012 report by South Korea-based North Korea Resource Institute (NKRI), North Korea has substantial reserves of iron ore, coal, limestone, and magnesite.<ref name=KH82612>{{cite news|title=N.K. mineral resources may be worth $9.7tr|url=http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120826000070|access-date=August 27, 2012|newspaper=[[The Korea Herald]]|date=August 26, 2012|agency=Yonhap News}}</ref> In addition, North Korea is thought to have tremendous potential rare metal resources, which have been valued in excess of US$6 trillion.<ref>{{cite news|title=North Korea, New Land of Opportunity? |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/north-korea-new-land-of-opportunity-01192012.html |access-date=September 2, 2012 |newspaper=Bloomberg Business News |date=January 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817080358/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/north-korea-new-land-of-opportunity-01192012.html |archive-date=August 17, 2012 }}</ref>

It is the world's 18th largest producer of [[List of countries by iron production|iron]] and [[List of countries by zinc production|zinc]], and has the [[Coal#World coal reserves|22nd largest]] [[coal]] reserves in the world. It is also the 15th largest [[List of countries by fluorite production|fluorite producer]] and 12th largest producer of [[List of countries by copper mine production|copper]] and [[List of countries by salt production|salt]] in Asia. Other major natural resources in production include [[lead]], [[tungsten]], [[graphite]], [[magnesite]], [[gold]], [[pyrite]]s, [[fluorspar]], and [[hydropower]].

In 2015, North Korea exported 19.7 million tonnes of coal, worth $1.06 billion, much of it to China.<ref>[http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2053695/china-suspends-north-korean-coal-imports-three-weeks China suspends North Korean coal imports for three weeks in line with UN sanctions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161212054426/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2053695/china-suspends-north-korean-coal-imports-three-weeks |date=December 12, 2016 }}, SCMP, December 11, 2016</ref>
In 2016 it was estimated that coal shipments to China accounted for about 40% of exports.<ref>{{cite news |title=Striking black gold: How North Koreans became coal entrepreneurs |url=https://www.nknews.org/2016/06/striking-black-gold-how-north-koreans-became-coal-entrepreneurs/ |first=Andrei |last=Lankov |work=[[NK News]] |date=June 14, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614123513/https://www.nknews.org/2016/06/striking-black-gold-how-north-koreans-became-coal-entrepreneurs/ |archive-date=June 14, 2016 |access-date=June 14, 2016 }}</ref>

However, starting from February 2017 China suspended all North Korean coal imports, although according to China overall trade with North Korea increased.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/world/asia/china-north-korea-trade-coal-nuclear.html?_r=0 |last1=Perlez|first1=Jane|author2=Yufan Huang|title=China Says Its Trade With North Korea Has Increased |date=April 13, 2017 |access-date=April 22, 2017 | work=[[The New York Times]]|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622203936/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/world/asia/china-north-korea-trade-coal-nuclear.html?_r=0 |archive-date=June 22, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/world/asia/north-korea-china-coal-imports-suspended.html |author=Choe Sang-Hun|title=China Suspends All Coal Imports From North Korea|date=February 18, 2017| work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219080116/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/world/asia/north-korea-china-coal-imports-suspended.html |archive-date=February 19, 2017 }}</ref>