I’ll take any crumb of comfort I can get on this one. This is from an AFP
report dated 3/19/03: “Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported last week
that China halted heavy-oil supplies to the energy-starved country for about
three days in February, citing ‘repairs.’ The report, on which China’s
foreign ministry declined to comment, suggested the action was a signal to
Pyongyang to refrain from provocative moves.”