An inside source close to The DailyNK reports on the recent popularity of methamphetamines amongst North Korean youths with privileged backgrounds. The source claims that to address the issue, authorities have formed special inspection teams but the issue is to widespread to eradicate. An anecdote from Chongjin in North-eastern North Korea:
“An inspection unit composed of Party and judicial officials made a surprise visit to Namkang Women’s Senior Middle School in the Pohang district of Chongjin, just in front of the statue of Kim Il Sung. There, they inspected the bags of female students in one senior class (17-18 years), and found the tools for sniffing meth in more than 50% of them.”
“Tools” for sniffing crystal meth apparently consist of rolled up paper bills, which of course are adorned with the portrait of Kim Il-Sung and thus regarded as extremely disrespectful to the Great Leader. An increase in prostitution is also linked to the high usage of the drug, which has highly addictive tendencies and can be difficult to pay for with money. Often the drug is given away for birthday gifts as well. And as its is mostly the children of the elite who are addicted to the drug, it can be difficult to eliminate the problem since the government corruption runs high.
Source: DailyNK
