North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security has launched an intensive crackdown on major trading companies suspected of manufacturing and exporting illegal drugs.
“Both the Myohyang Trade Bureau and Ponghwa Trade Bureau are now under intensive investigation by the Ministry of Social Security’s investigation bureau,” a Pyongyang source told Daily NK recently. “The investigation started after a special No. 1 order—personally signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un—was issued following police reports that accused these trade bureaus of drug manufacturing and smuggling operations into China.”
The source revealed that the damning document detailed how subcontracted trade bases in coastal regions and factories near Pyongyang had been “producing all kinds of drugs for export to China while disguising themselves as experimental facilities for oil extraction.”
The Ministry of Social Security headquarters received the explosive document on the afternoon of June 16 and immediately escalated it to the Central Committee, which responded with Kim’s personally signed order.
“This inspection reflects the top leadership’s policy to completely eliminate officials who have lost the people’s trust before the Ninth Party Congress,” the source explained. “The Ministry of Social Security’s investigation bureau, acting on the No. 1 special order, plans to conduct intensive inspections of both trade bureaus through the end of the month.”
The investigation bureau has launched coordinated raids targeting not only the headquarters of the Myohyang and Ponghwa trading bureaus but also their subcontracted facilities and associated factories.
Initial findings reveal that department heads, deputy department heads, and section chiefs have accumulated substantial foreign currency wealth through these illegal drug manufacturing and export operations. They’ve used these proceeds to import luxury cars and high-end electronics, either for personal use or for secret transactions with other officials.
The investigation bureau reported to Kim Jong Un that officials at the trading bureaus had formed a protective cartel to shield each other from scrutiny. Upon receiving this report, Kim harshly criticized those responsible, declaring that authorities could no longer tolerate officials who “betray the people’s expectations and line their own pockets as the Eighth Party Congress comes to an end.”
Kim’s response suggested a broader purge was imminent, ordering harsh punishment for implicated officials and calling the drug manufacturing and sales “by one of our own trading bureaus with our own hands” an “insult to revolutionary tasks.”
As news of the incident spreads, public reaction has been notably skeptical. Many citizens point out that methamphetamines “have been around since the Arduous March of the 1990s and have been sold under the table since Kim Jong Il’s time, while authorities consistently turned a blind eye.” They find it “surprising that the authorities would act now since drugs are nothing new.”
Some people cynically noted that those “who already made it big selling drugs are now living in luxury apartments,” suggesting the current investigation is “nothing more than a show targeting whoever’s left behind.”
However, the investigation appears to be more than just political theater and is likely to result in real consequences.
An investigation bureau official reportedly stated that this inspection “won’t stop at simply questioning those involved but will result in legal action,” and that the Myohyang and Ponghwa trading bureaus “are just the beginning—the investigation will expand to other trade entities with similar structures.”
With the probe targeting not only trade bureaus but also subcontracted facilities, regional chemical factories, import-export agencies, and other connected entities, related officials are extremely anxious. Some are avoiding their offices entirely, staying home while waiting to see how the situation develops in the increasingly tense atmosphere.
“It really looks like the party has their knives out,” people are saying as they watch events unfold. “We’d like to see the authorities get to the bottom of this and punish those who committed these illegal acts.”
