SEOUL, 24 Nov.04 (WAM) ?More than 1.18 million tons of anthracite wereshipped from North Korea to China, so far this year more than twice theamount for the same period in 2003, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency(KOTRA) said Tuesday. North Korea exported 530,000 tons of the fuel toits neighbor.

KOTRA said that demand for fuel has led to a 47 percent increase in pricesfor the North Korean coal, giving earnings of US$34.7 million for Pyongyang,up from $1.08 million for the same period the year before.

It said that China's robust economy was demanding increasing amounts offuel, and in the case of anthracite coal, there was an estimated shortageof 20 to 30 million tons, which could further push up prices by 10 percent.

North Korea relies on two domestic sources of commercial energy -- coaland hydropower -- for most of its energy needs. Coal accounted for about86% of the country's primary energy consumption.

North Korea's electric generating capacity is split nearly evenly betweencoal-fired thermal plants and hydroelectric plants?As a result of its electricity shortage, the country often experienceblackouts for extended periods of time, and power losses due to an antiquatedtransmission grid are high. Some hydroelectric facilities are believedto still be out of operation due to flood damage from major flooding in1996.

Problems with the North Korean coal industry are closely related to theproblem with electricity supply. Coal-fired power plants have been runningwell under capacity in recent years, due in part to problems with railtransportation of coal.