On Saturday the totalitarian dictatorship's largest trading partner, China, reacted to the Feb. 12 test of a long-range ballistic missile by announcing a ban on coal from the rogue nation till the end of 2017.

The decision by the China's Ministry of Commerce, issued jointly with the country's customs agency, was made to comply with a UN Security Council resolution that China helped draft and pass in November.

Along with restricting the export of coal, the resolution also targets non-ferrous metals, statues and other luxury items like tapestries.

China's import ban on North Korean coal was supposed to be lifted in January but the missile test has meant that Beijing's coal ban will continue.

Last year China imported 22.4 million tonnes of anthracitic coal that can be used as an alternative to coking coal in the steelmaking process from North Korea, a nearly 15% rise from 2015.

China forges more steel than the rest of the world combined and the country last year imported a total 59.2 million tonnes of coking coal, an increase of nearly 24% over 2015.

Eoin Treacy's view

China and Russia have long applied a satellite state foreign policy strategy in order to protect their borders from the risk of being overrun by a surprise land invasion. North Korea has played just such a role for China which the ban on coal but import of anthracite highlights. Does anyone really think North Korea would be testing ballistic missiles without China’s tacit support?

Coking coal prices remain in a corrective phase and have unwound much of last-year’s advance. The point & figure chart highlights the unidirectional nature of trading and a clear reversal will be required to signal a return to demand dominance.

Meanwhile some of the largest coal coking coal companies, such as Glencore, continue to represent relative strength.