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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Report: N Korea ordered diplomats to sell meth |
| 2013-03-23 |
| According to a story in the prominent South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, North Korea ordered its diplomats in a number of foreign embassies, including at least one in Eastern Europe, to sell illegal drugs on the streets. A defector who spoke to South Korean intelligence said the diplomats were each sent abroad with 20 kilograms of drugs and were told to raise $300,000 from the sales. The diplomats were also told that they were being asked to forgo their ambassadorial responsibilities in favor of pushing drugs in order “to prove their loyalty and mark the birthday of nation founder Kim Il Sung on April 15.” The story estimates that a single embassy might enlist 10 of its diplomats to be drug dealers, an earning potential of $3 million per foreign mission. If true, this would be an extension of North Korea’s practice of selling state-manufactured drugs, typically high-quality meth, in China. Products from the state-run meth labs, though, are starting to trickle out into North Korean society. A report in 2011 said that many North Koreans, because they lack access to basic medicines and health care but have relatively easy access to the drug they call “ice,” have started using meth as a sort of cure-all. A NGO worker with experience in the country said, “People with chronic disease take it until they’re addicted. They take it for things like cancer. This drug is their sole form of medication.” |
| Posted by:ryuge |