By Jong-Min Lee
Edited by Raymond Ha, HRNK Director of Operations & Research On May 19, 2023, the South Korean military discovered the body of a deceased North Korean escapee in its waters. According to the South Korean authorities, roughly 70g of methamphetamine was found on the individual’s leg.[1] Considering North Korea’s past actions and their impact on nearby countries, the concerns pertaining to methamphetamine from North Korea are nothing new for South Korea. This piece examines the past and present of narcotrafficking in relation to North Korea, with a focus on China's northeastern provinces that have been most affected by this issue. History of North Korea’s State-led Narcotrafficking According to testimonies by high-ranking defectors, including Thae Yong-ho (former deputy ambassador to the UK) and Hwang Jang-yeop (former Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly), the North Korean regime started its narcotic-trafficking operations under Kim Jong-il’s guidance between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. This state-sponsored narcotrafficking started as an effort to prove Kim Jong-il’s political competency to his father, Kim Il-sung, by obtaining much-needed foreign currency for the regime.[2] However, this state-sponsored narcotrafficking experienced drawbacks during the 1970s. These operations caused significant diplomatic problems. Numerous North Korean diplomats were implicated for their involvement. In 1976 alone, North Korean diplomats were expelled and designated persona non grata from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden for trafficking hashish.[3] Subsequently, North Korea started to work with criminal organizations in the 1980s to mitigate diplomatic complications.[4] Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, North Korea faced significant economic difficulties and experienced a famine in the mid- to late-1990s. The North Korean regime called the famine the “Arduous March.” Professor Sandra Fahy states that “Marching through Suffering” is a more faithful translation. It connotes valiantly struggling through the dire conditions of the famine, which North Korea blamed on the United States. In the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse and the end of Soviet subsidies, Kim Il-sung expanded the regime’s narcotrafficking operations. In 1992, under Kim Il-sung’s orders, the cultivation of heroin was promoted on a national scale under the name of “White Bellflower Movement,” along with the production of methamphetamine, to secure foreign currency.[5] During the famine, Kim Jong-il further encouraged North Korea’s illicit operations to overcome economic challenges.[6] In 1996, there was a major shift in North Korea’s narcotics production. Severe floods and the famine damaged its poppy fields and created difficulties for heroin production. The regime thus turned to methamphetamine as an alternative.[7] Under orders from Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s diplomatic service, security apparatus, and numerous state agencies became involved in illicit activities.[8] For example, according to Hwang Jang-Yeop, North Korean naval vessels were routinely involved in narcotrafficking to Southeast Asia until the mid-1990s.[9] Hwang also testified in 1997 that Nanam Pharmaceutical plant managed heroin, Suncheon Pharmaceutical plant managed morphine, and Pyongyang Pharmaceutical plant managed meth production, showing deep and widespread state involvement in drug production.[10] In the case of heroin, it has been alleged that the forced labor of political prisoners was used to cultivate poppies. Satellite images have shown large poppy plantations near the Yodok political prison camp, and testimonies from refugees attest to the use of forced labor in heroin production.[11] The North Korean regime was also deeply involved in the production of crystal meth. The use of government-sanctioned pharmaceutical plants guarantees a high level of purity for the end products.[12] It has been alleged that the regime enhanced its narco-products by recruiting professional methamphetamine producers from South Korea in the early 1990s.[13] Chinese court dockets indicate that both South Korean[14] and Chinese transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)[15] have been involved in North Korea-related narcotrafficking. Extensive state involvement in narco-production and trafficking has increased the commercial value of North Korean products in the global narco-market.[16] These narcotics have been sold through North Korea’s diplomatic outposts and restaurants,[17] and also with the cooperation of various TCOs, including the Yakuza, the Russian Mafia, and the Triads.[18] It has been alleged that North Korea partnered with these organizations to cover its tracks.[19][20] Over time, this state-sponsored narcotrafficking project has resulted in the proliferation of professional narco-producers across the country. The regime has lost control over narcotics production, as these individuals are no longer constrained by the state. Drug-related crimes in North Korea have grown rampant despite the enactment of legislation on narco-control in 2004[21] and 2013.[22] Recent testimonies from refugees attest to an upsurge in public executions and criminal punishment for narcotics-related offenses.[23] North Korean meth products have also been found in the Philippines,[24] Australia,[25] China,[26] and South Korea.[27] They even came close to entering the United States in 2013.[28] China has been a major point of transit for North Korean narcotics.[29] The scale of North Korea’s narco-production and trafficking cannot be verified, mainly due to China’s unwillingness to release detailed information that could be politically sensitive.[30] In the absence of official documentation, the main source of information on the subject has been the testimonies of North Korean refugees.[31] Impact of North Korean Narcotics on the People’s Republic of China It has been widely acknowledged that North Korea’s narcotrafficking has most heavily impacted Chinese cities near the Sino-North Korean border. Although aggregated data on North Korean narcotics is unavailable, its existence and impact can be inferred from Chinese and South Korean sources. North Korean crystal meth was sold for roughly 1,200 RMB per gram in northeast China in 2010,[32] and the estimated annual North Korean production of crystal meth and other synthetic drugs is around 3,000 kg.[33] Meanwhile, South Korean sources estimate that Bureau 39, which is tasked with raising foreign currency for the North Korean regime, has been making roughly $100-200 million annually through narcotrafficking operations.[34] The high purity of North Korea’s crystal meth has made it increasingly competitive in the Chinese drug market. Police officers in northeast China have stated that North Korean crystal meth has been sold at a higher price than that from southern China, where illicit substances are obtained from the “Golden Triangle” (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar). In contrast to crystal meth from southern China, which was sold at approximately 1g/1200 RMB (equivalent to $186), the starting price of North Korean crystal meth was approximately 1g/1500 RMB (equivalent to $232).[35] Even though exact information is not publicly available, narcotrafficking operations are likely to have been a major source of revenue for the North Korean regime. Based on Chinese court cases, relevant statistics, and statements from senior Chinese Ministry of Public Safety (MPS) officials, North Korea’s narcotrafficking operations caused significant security challenges for the Chinese government and resulted in corruption among border security personnel. In 2011, Liu Yuejin, Vice Commissioner of the National Narcotics Control Commission, commented: The number of people using methamphetamine in Northeast China has increased significantly. The abuse situation in Northeast China is prominent, and the registered synthetic drug abusers in the three Northeastern provinces have accounted for more than 72% of all drug users. To the surprise of the Chinese people, the three Eastern provinces, which are neither coastal nor drug-producing, have become the hardest hit areas. Russia and South Korea, which border the three Eastern provinces, are importers of drugs, are not important sources of exports, and only North Korea has grown to be the manufacturer of drugs on a large scale since the 1990s. There is also plenty of evidence that drugs from North Korea, especially methamphetamine, are rampant in the three Northeastern provinces.[36] Northeast China has been hit the hardest by drug problems relative to other regions of the country. According to statistics from the Yanji municipal government in 2009, the number of narcotic offenders related to crystal meth in the city in 1995 was only 44, but the number had increased to 2,090 over a decade.[37] Meanwhile, the Shenyang City Prosecution Service stated that 73% of all narcotraffickers prosecuted between 2009 and 2011 were foreign nationals.[38] These “foreign” nationals are allegedly North Koreans. Furthermore, from January to May 2015, the Jilin provincial government seized and incinerated roughly 170 kg of narcotics.[39] When the Regional Deputy Director of Ministry of Public Safety and the Commander of the Byeonbang (Border Area) Reconnaissance Battalion in Donggang City were indicted in 2015 for colluding with North Koreans, Chinese authorities seized approximately 50 kg of North Korean crystal meth during the arrest.[40] The opaqueness of narcotrafficking from North Korea also presents a significant challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who declared a war on drugs in 2014.[41] In 2020, Xi re-emphasized the importance of China’s counter-narcotic efforts.[42] China’s 2019 National Drugs Situation Report identified 0.16% of its population (2.148 million) as drug users.[43] This poses a significant challenge for Xi, and China has taken steps to address the problem over the past decade. Despite the severity of this issue, information about North Korea’s narcotrafficking in China has not been publicized through foreign media outlets since 2018,[44] when there was a thaw in Sino-North Korean relations with multiple summit meetings between Xi and Kim.[45] Since then, Sino-North Korean relations have been reinforced as Sino-U.S. relations have deteriorated. Reports from the Liaoning Daily and statistics from the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenyang in 2020 note that the number of narcotics-related offenses had declined by 61.11% since 2016.[46] However, considering that North Korea enforced strong border control measures in response to COVID-19,[47][48] this decline may reflect North Korea’s extreme quarantine measures rather than a fundamental shift in policy. North Korean narcotrafficking can also be examined through information from South Korean sources. In 2012, Representative Yoon Sang-hyun of the National Assembly stated that more than half of the narcotics entering South Korea originated from North Korea.[49] The problem has only grown in recent years. The number of maritime narcotrafficking interdictions by South Korea’s Coast Guard increased from 56 in 2016 to 962 in 2022.[50] According to figures from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the amount of confiscated heroin increased from 0.74g in the first half of 2020 to 1,210.26g in the first half of 2021, while the amount of seized methamphetamine jumped from 28,114.19g in the first half of 2020 to 93,065g in the first half of 2021.[51] These figures do not provide specific information about narcotrafficking originating from North Korea. However, given the past frequency of indictments and announcements by South Korean authorities implicating North Korea in narcotrafficking incidents, it is plausible that North Korea is involved in these developments. North Korea’s Narcotrafficking: Recent Developments Kim Jong-un has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with China on drug-related issues. In particular, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) passed a new counter-narcotics law in July 2021. Compared to the 2004 and 2013 amendments that only included clauses related to the punishment of the production and trafficking of narcotics, this new law has a special provision that specifically refers to the prevention of narcotics usage and related crimes.[52] Considering the statements and relevant data from Chinese officials in the three northeastern provinces and from North Korean refugees, however, the new law is unlikely to have a meaningful impact. The severity of narcotics usage among North Koreans may be attributed to state-sponsored narcotics production and distribution, a dilapidated healthcare system, food insecurity, and the rise in demand and distribution of narcotics throughout North Korea and its vicinity. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the famine in the 1990s devastated North Korea’s economy, public distribution system, and public health infrastructure. More North Koreans turned to illicit substances to evade hunger, illness, and pain.[53] The severity of the issue is indicated by the testimony of a former North Korean counternarcotics prosecutor, who stated in a 2021 article that roughly 30 percent of the North Korean population has abused illicit substances. The problem is not solely restricted to adults. This former prosecutor testified that she had even witnessed seven-year-olds abusing narcotics.[54] A study by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights in 2018 reached similar conclusions regarding the percentage of the population affected by drug abuse.[55] The gravity of the problem has also been well described in testimony from Chinese law enforcement. Yanbian police officers stated in a 2014 study that most North Korean households stored at least 2 grams of narcotics as first-aid medicine.[56] To stabilize the region and to counter the spread of narcotics in northeast China, Chinese authorities initiated a cooperative investigation with South Korean authorities in 2011.[57] South Korea and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Enforcement of Criminal Laws for transnational crimes. However, compared to China's existing transnational counter-narcotic measures with ASEAN countries—ASEAN and China Cooperative Operations in Response to Dangerous Drugs (ACCORD)—Sino-South Korean cooperation on transnational crimes is not as well structured. Chinese authorities have often demonstrated a lack of cooperation in terms of the South Korean authorities’ requests for extradition and investigations of transnational crimes.[58] Furthermore, it has been alleged that Chinese authorities have been hesitant to actively apprehend North Korean operators based on shifting bilateral relations and the geopolitical climate.[59] Concluding Remarks North Korea’s narcotrafficking not only affects China, but also impacts South Korea, which has been experiencing an increase in methamphetamine-related cases. South Korean police and prosecutors have frequently referred to narcotrafficking cases involving narcotics originating from North Korea, with references to North Korea’s Ministry of State Security.[60] On October 26, 2022, South Korea’s President Yoon and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) declared a war on drugs.[61] Earlier this year, there were revelations about a methamphetamine blackmail scheme targeting minors at a cram-school in Seoul, with the methamphetamine originating from China.[62] South Korea has been experiencing an increase in methamphetamine-related narcotrafficking cases, some of which may plausibly involve North Korea and other TCOs. While cooperation between China and South Korea is needed to effectively address this issue, it is unclear whether such cooperation will be forthcoming. Consider, for example, the lack of cooperation thus far between the United States and China regarding the fentanyl crisis.[63] The current geopolitical environment does not appear to be conducive to significant bilateral cooperation between Seoul and Beijing on narcotrafficking, including narcotics originating from North Korea. Jong-Min Lee is a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, pursuing a concentration in International Security and Public International Law. He is a graduate of the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, where he pursued a concentration in Security Policy and Global Public Health. [1] Kim Yejin, “마약 들고 탈북 추정...북한 남성 시신 발견해 조사 중” [Suspected to have escaped from North Korea with Narcotics... Authorities are Investigating after the Body of a Deceased North Korean Man is Found], Segye Ilbo, May 27, 2023. https://m.segye.com/view/20230527505240. [2] Thae Yong-ho, “북한에 마약 많이 퍼졌다는 소문 돌지만... 실제론 철저히 단속” [Despite the Rumors of Prevalence of Narcotics in North Korea, the Authorities have Responded with Strict Measures], Chosun Ilbo, April 27, 2023. https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/04/26/2019042602028.html. [3] “Letter from Norwegian Police Security Service to Foreign Ministry, “The North Korean Embassy-Illegal Import and Distribution of Spirits, Cigarettes, etc.,” The Wilson Center Digital Archive, March 28, 2017. https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/letter-norwegian-police-security-service-foreign-ministry-north-korean-embassy-illegal?_ga=2.196974126.321082836.1627586055-1512673604.1622236090&_gac=1.219723243.1626069560.Cj0KCQjwraqHBhDsARIsAKuGZeGaI3t0CVh5E0--v3SlEoOhNqLnVITICdtPvYlXg9PqOfLDsdfu8zsaAuF6EALw_wcB. [4] William Bach, “Drugs, Counterfeiting, and Arms Trade: The North Korean Connection,” 2001-2009 Archive for the U.S. Department of State, May 20, 2003. https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/21044.htm. [5] Hwang Hyung-joon, “양귀비 직접 재배해 마약 제조’…북한군의 ‘백도라지 사업’” [Producing Narcotics through Cultivating own Poppy Plantations…Korean People’s Army’s “White Bellflower Project”], Dong-A Ilbo, December 8, 2008. https://www.donga.com/news/Politics/article/all/20081208/8668334/1. [6] Jang Won-jae, “장원재의 북한 요지경: ‘마약의 나라’ 북한 주민의 30%가 마약 상복” [Country of Narcotics: 30% of North Korean Population Abuses Narcotics], Monthly Chosun, November 2019. http://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=&nNewsNumb=201911100048. [7] Lee Hong, “추적! 평양發 마약 커넥션의 내막 국가기관이 헤로인ㆍ필로폰 밀조ㆍ밀매를 주관하는 세계 유일의 사례 연구” [Drug Ring Originating from Pyongyang, Research on the World’s Only Narco-State, the Drug Rings’ Connection to North Korea’s State-led Production and Smuggling of Heroin and Methamphetamine], Monthly Chosun, July 2003. http://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=&nNewsNumb=200307100056. [8] Michael Miklaucic and Moisés Naím, “The Criminal State,” in Convergence: Illicit Networks and National Security in the Age of Globalization, eds. Michael Miklaucic and Jacqueline Brewer (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 2013), 164–65. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/Books/convergence.pdf. [9] Yang Jung-ah, “황장엽 ‘김정일 비자금 마카오-광저우 두 곳에서 관리” [Hwang Jang-yeop says Kim Jong-il’s Slush Funds are managed in Macau and Guangzhou], Daily NK, January 16, 2006. https://www.dailynk.com/%ED%99%A9%EC%9E%A5%EC%97%BD-%EA%B9%80%EC%A0%95%EC%9D%BC-%EB%B9%84%EC%9E%90%EA%B8%88-%EB%A7%88%EC%B9%B4%EC%98%A4%EA%B4%91%EC%A0%80%EC%9A%B0/. [10] Jang, “Country of Narcotics.” [11] Ed Barnes, “Flourishing Poppy Fields Outside Prison Camps Are Heroin Cash Crop for North Korea,” Fox News, May 10, 2011. https://www.foxnews.com/world/flourishing-poppy-fields-outside-prison-camps-are-heroin-cash-crop-for-north-korea. [12] Jang, “Country of Narcotics." [13] Jung Hee-sang, “한국 기술자 2명, 북한에서 마약 제조” [Two South Koreans are Producing Narcotics in North Korea], Sisa Journal, November 11, 2001. https://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=79131. [14] Liu Yang, “两名韩国人在中国东北地区贩毒 分获死刑及死缓” [Two South Koreans Sentenced to Death for Narcotrafficking in Northeast China], Sohu, August 14, 2012. http://news.sohu.com/20120814/n350626755.shtml. [15] Liu Li, “家禁毒委、公安部公布近期破获的十起毒品大案” [The National Narcotic Control Commission and the Ministry of Public Safety’s Ten Major Counter-Narcotics Sting Operations], China Central Television, June 25, 2008. http://news.cctv.com/society/20080625/106509.shtml. [16] Jung, “Two South Koreans are Producing Narcotics in North Korea.” [17] Joo Seong-ha, “마약에 빠진 북한… ‘동네마다 얼음 파는 집’” [North Korea on Drugs… ‘Prevalence of Methamphetamine’], Dong-A Ilbo, May 25, 2019. https://www.donga.com/news/Politics/article/all/20190525/95690028/1. [18] Bach, “Drugs, Counterfeiting, and Arms Trade.” [19] David L. Asher, “Policy Forum 05-92A: The North Korean Criminal State, its Ties to Organized Crime, and the Possibility of WMD Proliferation.”, Nautilus Institute, November 15, 2005. https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-policy-forum/the-north-korean-criminal-state-its-ties-to-organized-crime-and-the-possibility-of-wmd-proliferation/?msclkid=808ba4d8b6db11ecbe8709e0f0316cb3. [20] Miklaucic and Naím, “The Criminal State,” 164–65. [21] Yang Ok-kyung et al., “Bukhan jumin-ui mayak sayong mit jungdok” [North Korea’s Illegal Drug Use and Abuse: Current Situation and Solutions], Dong-A Yeongu 37, no. 1 (2018): 233–70. https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002323057. [22] Ibid. [23] Oh Gyeong-seob et al., White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2021 (Seoul, Korea: Korea Institute for National Unification, 2021), 45–56. https://www.kinu.or.kr/main/module/report/view.do?idx=837&nav_code=mai1674786121. [24] Rosette Adel, “Sebastian: Drugs in Bilibid come from China, North Korea,” Philstar Global, October 10, 2016. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/10/10/1632237/sebastian-drugs-bilibid-come-china-north-korea. [25] Doug Struck, “Heroin Trail Leads to North Korea,” The Washington Post, May 12, 2003. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/05/12/heroin-trail-leads-to-north-korea/017fa657-ce96-4eae-b44e-16f9376816ff/. [26] Son Hye-min, “북 보위성 소속 마약밀수조직 중국 공안에 체포돼” [Drug Ring under North Korea’s Ministry of State Security Operatives have been Apprehended by the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety], Radio Free Asia, May 24, 2019. https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/ne-hm-05242019090806.html. [27] Ibid. [28] Sari Horwitz, “5 Extradited in Plot to Import North Korean Meth to U.S.,” The Washington Post, November 20, 2013. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/5-extradited-in-plot-to-import-north-korean-meth-to-us/2013/11/20/4a2a3840-5222-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html. [29] “중국 지린성, 북-중 마약밀매 거점부상” [Jilin Province of China has become the epicenter of Sino-North Korean Narcotrafficking], VOA News, January 26, 2010. https://www.voakorea.com/a/a-35-2010-01-26-voa22-91428629/1331770.html. [30] Wang Jiawei et al., “朝鲜攻陷东北” [North Korea Narcotics Took Over Northeast China], Wenmi, October 24, 2022. https://www.wenmi.com/article/pzv4j903t2ri.html. [31] U.S. Department of State, 2017 INCSR-Volume I: Drug and Chemical Control (as Submitted to Congress), March 2, 2017, 143. https://www.state.gov/2017-incsr-volume-i-drug-and-chemical-control-as-submitted-to-congress/. [32] Choi Won-gi, “북한 사회의 마약 실태” [The Drug Problem in North Korea], VOA Korea, August 11, 2010. https://www.voakorea.com/a/nk-drug-100462074/1347301.html. [33] Lee Dong-hwi, “북한産 필로폰 국내 유통시킨 19명 검거” [Nineteen Individuals Arrested for Distributing North Korean Meth], Chosun Ilbo, October 10, 2019. https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/10/08/2019100800156.html. [34] Lee Jang-hoon, “북한 노동당 39호실의 외화벌이 사업” [Korean Workers’ Party Bureau 39’s Foreign Currency Operations], Monthly Chosun, August 2015. http://monthly.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?ctcd=&nNewsNumb=201508100036. [35] Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Illicit: North Korea’s Evolving Operations to Earn Hard Currency (Washington, D.C.: Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, 2014), 85–88. https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/SCG-FINAL-FINAL.pdf. [36] Li Cong, “Drugged by Comrades,” Global Times, March 12, 2013. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/201303/767651.shtml. [37] Kim Kyong-chan et al., “Joongguk dongbuk jiyeok hanguk gwallyeon mayak beomjoe wa boisu pishing beomjoe ui siltae mit daeung bangan-e gwanhan yeongu” [The Research and Legal Studies on the Policy and the Trends of Drug and Voice Phishing Crime Related to Koreans in Northeast China] (Seoul, Korea: Korea Institute of Criminology, 2014), 100. https://www.dbpia.co.kr/journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE02393421. [38] Ibid., 63. [39] “길림성 마약 170여키로그람 집중소각” [Jilin Province Incinerates 170kg Worth of Narcotics], People’s Network, June 24, 2015. http://korean.people.com.cn/85524/15516533.html. [40] Joo, “North Korea on Drugs.” [41] Shannon Tiezzi, “China's War on Drugs,” The Diplomat, May 29, 2015. https://thediplomat.com/2014/08/chinas-war-on-drugs/. [42] “习近平对禁毒工作作出重要指示强调 坚持厉行禁毒方针 打好禁毒人民战争 推动禁毒工作不断取得新成效” [President Xi Jinping Issues Important Instructions and Expects Effective Results on Counter-Narcotic Efforts and Declares People’s War on Drugs], Xinhua, June 23, 2020. http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-06/23/c_1126150124.htm. [43] Aksu District Public Security Bureau Cyber Division, 《2019年中国毒品形势报告》发布(附全文) [China’s National Drug Situation Report 2019 (Full Text)], Baidu, June 25, 2020. https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1670462119974013484&wfr=spider&for=pc. [44] Author’s finding from researching major Chinese internet portals and state media outlets. [45] Steven Lee Myers and Jane Perlez, “Kim Jong-Un Met with Xi Jinping in Secret Beijing Visit,” The New York Times, March 27, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/world/asia/kim-jong-un-china-north-korea.html. [46] Zhou Xianzhong et al., “市法院发布禁毒工作白皮书(2016-2020)” [City Court Releases White Paper on Anti-drug Work (2016-2020)], Shenyang Net, June 23, 2021. https://news.syd.com.cn/system/2021/06/23/011925533.shtml. [47] Jesse Jonson, “North Korea Closes Borders to All Foreign Tourists as New Coronavirus Spreads from China,” The Japan Times, January 22, 2020. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/01/22/asia-pacific/science-health-asia-pacific/north-korea-closes-borders-all-foreign-tourists-coronavirus-china/. [48] Ji Jeong-eun, “North Korea Accepts Pandemic Aid, but Border with China Remains Closed,” Radio Free Asia, October 7, 2021. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/aid-10072021191235.html. [49] Jung Ah-ran, “윤상현 ‘국내반입 마약 절반 이상이 북한산’” [Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun: ‘More than half of the Narcotics in South Korea originates from North Korea’], Yonhap News, February 6, 2012. https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20120206062000001. [50] Republic of Korea Coast Guard, “지표서비스 나라 지표-마약사범 단속 현황” [Statistics on Apprehension and Crackdown of Narcotraffickers], January 9, 2023. https://www.index.go.kr/unity/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do;jsessionid=9HQEWIWkUeP6_phzbGwjMQS57_jVe8jh8hoZrYhQ.node11?idx_cd=A0001. [51] Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Korea, “2021년 6월 마약류 월간동향” [2021 June Report: Monthly Trends for Narcotrafficking], July 23, 2023. https://www.spo.go.kr/site/spo/ex/board/List.do?cbIdx=1201. [52] Lee Myong-cheol, “북, 마약사범 급증에 ‘마약범죄방지법’ 새로 제정” [North Korea Newly Adopts ‘Drug Crime Prevention Act’ to Counter Increase of Narcotic-Related Offenders], Radio Free Asia, August 3, 2021. https://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/ne-lm-08032021091443.html. [53] Yang et al., “North Korea’s Illegal Drug Use and Abuse.” [54] Ahn Yong-hyun, “주민 30% 마약...한류에 푹빠져’ 김정은이 말한 '악성암' 北 덮쳤다” [30% of the Population Suspected to Abuse Narcotics, Absorbed in Korean Wave; ‘Terminal Cancer’ Mentioned by Kim Jong-un has Struck North Korea], Chosun Ilbo, July 23, 2021. https://www.chosun.com/politics/north_korea/2021/07/23/ER57Y5DENZGILNAAW7V2KLDAUM/. [55] Koo Eun-hyung, “이관형 “북한은 왜? <北 주민 30%... 마약 경험?>” [Why has 30% of North Koreans Experienced Narcotics?], MBC News, December 19, 2016. https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/unity/4186812_29114.html. [56] Kim et al., “The Research and Legal Studies on the Policy and the Trends of Drug and Voice Phishing Crime Related to Koreans in Northeast China,” 97. [57] Yoon Wan-jun, “[단독]中, 북한산 마약에 뿔났다” [Exclusive: China Infuriated over North Korean Narcotics], Dong-A Ilbo, July 5, 2011. https://www.donga.com/news/Inter/article/all/20110705/38547901/1. [58] Song Young-ji, “Han joong hyeongsa sabeop gongjo-eui munjaejeom-gwa gaesun bangan” [Problems in International Mutual Assistance between Korea and China and the Improvement Plan], Kangwon Law Review 59 (2020): 263–94. https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002567640. [59] Son Hye-min, “China Uncovers North Korean State-Sponsored Drug Ring after Arrests,” Radio Free Asia, October 11, 2020. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/nk-china-meth-agents-05282019164756.html. [60] For example, see Park Hyun-jun, “검찰, 北에 포섭돼 마약판매 시도 50대 구속기소” [Prosecution Service Indicts 50-year-old for Attempting to Sell Narcotics on North Korea’s Behalf], Asia Business Daily, May 25, 2010. http://cm.asiae.co.kr/article/2010052516351574974. [61] Lee Sung-eun, “Yoon, PPP Declare War on Drugs,” Korea JoongAng Daily, October 26, 2022. https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/26/national/socialAffairs/korea-drugs-drug-smuggling/20221026184624813.html. [62] Jun Ji-hye, “Police Request Chinese Authorities’ Assistance in Drug-Laced Drinks Case,” The Korea Times, April 10, 2023. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2023/05/113_348773.html. [63] Vanda Felbab-Brown, “China’s Role in the Fentanyl Crisis,” The Brookings Institute, March 31, 2023. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chinas-role-in-the-fentanyl-crisis/.
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DedicationHRNK staff members and interns wish to dedicate this program to our colleagues Katty Chi and Miran Song. Categories
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