PYONGYANG // An acute shortage of gasoline in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang that has sparked price hikes and hoarding is raising fears of potentially crippling pain at the pumps if things do not get better soon — and driving rumours that China is to blame.
The shortage, which is extremely unusual if not unprecedented, began last week when signs went up at gas stations around the city informing customers that restrictions on sales would be put in place until further notice.
With no indication as of Wednesday night of when the restrictions might be lifted — or why they have been imposed — drivers continue to scramble to fill up their tanks and whatever other containers they can find.
Prices, meanwhile, have shot up.
They had been fairly stable, typically at about 70-80 cents (Dh2.57-Dh2.93) a kilogram. But on Wednesday, at least one station was charging $1.40.
Gasoline is sold by kilos in North Korean filling stations.
China supplies most of energy-poor North Korea’s fuel, and in lieu of official explanations, rumours are rife that Beijing is behind the shortage.
The concerns are adding to a tense and uncertain mood on the Korean Peninsula since US president Donald Trump assumed office with repeated calls for Beijing — Pyongyang’s economic lifeline — to get tough on North Korea. In response, Pyongyang says Washington is pushing for a nuclear war.
In the letter to the Association of South-east Asian Nations’ secretary general, North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho warned the situation on the Korean Peninsula was “reaching the brink of war” because of Washington’s actions.
He appealed to the South-east Asian countries for support in its row with the US to prevent what it warned could be a “nuclear holocaust”.
Though trade between North Korea and China appears to be solid, and possibly even growing, there are indications Beijing has been quietly tightening enforcement of some international sanctions aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
Limiting the oil supply has been openly discussed in Beijing as one option but it is unclear if that is actually happening.
Two days after the restrictions were announced, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency carried an editorial denouncing “a country around the DARK” – an obvious if not explicit reference to China. DARK is short for North Korea’s official name — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“The DARK’s nuclear deterrence for self-defence ... is by no means a bargaining chip for getting something,” the commentary said, adding that if “the country” keeps applying economic sanctions “while dancing to the tune of someone ... it may be applauded by the enemies of the DARK but it should get itself ready to face the catastrophic consequences in the relations with the DARK.”
* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
