Kim's vision of a coal-fuelled North Korean future may be tough to realise

FILE PHOTO - A North Korean man sits beside a pile of coal on the bank of the Yalu River in the North Korean town of Sinuiju December 16, 2006. REUTERS/Adam Dean/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) - When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his New Year speech to highlight coal as a "primary front" in developing the economy, he was making a case for what analysts see as a flawed but key resource on which his country increasingly relies.

Coal has long been a major resource for North Korea, and Kim's call for self sufficiency in the face of international pressure is a recurring theme.