North Korea Passing the Nuclear Spotlight

…In return for shutting down the main nuclear reactor within 60 days, North Korea will get 50,000 tons of fuel. They will gain another 950,000 tons of fuel after taking more steps toward nuclear disarmament.

But the decision by North Korea to suspend and potentially dismantle their nuclear program isn’t that surprising. The eventual collapse of the program was evident. And all the signs stemmed from the country’s dire energy situation.


The end of the cold war in the 1990’s decimated the North Korean economy. GNP was reduced by half. In fact, every sector of their economy declined due to energy shortages.

After the collapse of Soviet Union, North Korea lost its subsidized oil imports. This is significant because North Korea has no proven oil or gas reserves. The country must import its entire oil demand of 25,000 bbl/day.

Energy and Capital