China imported just over 1.44 million tonnes of North Korean coal in the month of January, according to the 1718 Committee tasked with monitoring the trade, on Monday.

The import figures are the lowest since coal was subject to UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions in March 2016 and the lowest since November, 2015 according to figures collected by the Korean International Trade Association (KITA).

The numbers, published on the monitoring website of the 1718 Committee, were made public three days after China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it would suspend all imports of North Korean coal for the duration of 2017.