China will cease all coal imports from North Korea until the end 2017, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stated on Saturday.

The announcement, which was justified as a means to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2321, will suspend the import of all North Korean coal from Sunday February 19 until December 31, 2017.

The suspension could have a big impact on Pyongyang’s financial outlook for the year, with exports to China valued at $2.6 billion dollars in 2016 alone, or 44 percent of the DPRK’s total exports to the PRC.

“If this Chinese central government policy is implemented on