According to the Guardian report, Aminex will “explore and develop all the country’s potentially oil-bearing territory, with a decisive say in production”. The UK firm will have 20 year rights together with the government.

Furthermore, Aminex had also negotiated “the right to receive royalties, revenues and the pick of the best acreage should it prove productive”.

North Korea’s oil resources have been neglected for the past 20 years despite Korea Bay’s proximity to China’s oil-rich offshore Bohai Bay.