Reports are stating that drug abuse by
ordinary citizens living in areas near the Sino-North Korean border, where
drugs are easier to purchase, has reached a serious level. Not only are
everyday families are consuming or acquiring drugs to re-sell for money, but
drugs can also be found as part of the hospitality offerings in privately
rented rooms and as part of the formal greeting process between individuals.
On October 8th, a source from Musan County,
North Hamgyong Province spoke with Daily NK reporter on the phone, saying, “Illegal drug transactions and use among people in the
border regions is spreading so quickly that it is virtually uncontrollable.
A source in South Hamgyong Province corroborated this news.
Added the source, “‘Ice’ (crystal methamphetamine, or “crystal meth”) that is being produced
secretly in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province and Sunchon, South Pyongan
Province, for the purpose of smuggling to China, is being supplied
to many families who are transporting it across the border.”
Even just in Musan County, North Hamgyong
Province, it is becoming the norm for people who rent out private rooms to
offer drugs to the strangers who come seeking hospitality. “People here will ask the guests who stay with them during business trips (all
of them are here on regional trade business), ‘Would you like to try a bump?’
and offer some up,” he said.
Because of this, businessmen who visit the
area frequently have developed a taste for the illicit stimulant. As soon as they land in
Musan, they will head directly for the place they stayed before that offered
them the substance.
“It’s a good way to get regular customers,” the source noted.
By taking the
drug, customers form closer relationships with the landlords who provide it to
them, and it becomes easy to go overboard with consumption. It is not uncommon
for customers to open their pockets and share drugs with the families of the
landlords as a kind of compensation.
In the border regions, a gram of ice
fetches 100 yuan, the equivalent of 130,000 North Korean won. That’s an
increase of 20,000 KPW compared to just three months ago. In Pyongyang,
Hamhung, Chongjin, and other big cities, it is becoming the trend to give ice
to close friends as a gift instead of souvenirs. Young people will give a gram
as a birthday or wedding gift. Ice is even given to old people on their 60th
birthdays, according to the source.
Customs officials affiliated with the State
Security Department in North Hamgyong Province, including the head of the
customs department, will disperse following morning meetings and head out to
well known drug houses in the area. Traders hoping to go through customs
formalities might waste 3-4 hours trying to track down a customs official.
According to our source, young women will
use ‘medicinal water’, that is, water through which drugs have been filtered, on
their skin daily in order to get rid of acne. Employing the euphemism ‘medicinal water’ to refer to the illegal substance helps it to sidestep drug crackdowns.
