• ABOUT
  • ADVERTISE
  • SUPPORT
  • CONTACT
  • WORK
Friday, February 22, 2019
Shanghaiist
8 °c
Shanghai
7 ° Sat
6 ° Sun
6 ° Mon
5 ° Tue
5 ° Wed
9 ° Thu
  • NEWS

    Taiwan finally proposes Asia’s first draft law on gay marriage

    Trump praises China’s use of death penalty for drug dealers, implies that the US should follow suit

    Chinese billionaire calls Australia a “giant baby” after having his permanent residency revoked

    Air NZ flight to Shanghai was forced to turn back because of Taiwan reference in paperwork

    China releases video of Uighur musician to show he wasn’t tortured to death in re-education camp

    On mock cooking show, Taiwan premier trolls China with Winnie the Pooh doll

    China does even worse than usual in latest global freedom ranking

    “Exploitation.” Awkward translation faux pas spotted at China-Africa friendship event

    US hits Huawei with 23 criminal indictments for violating Iran sanctions, stealing trade secrets

    Canada’s ambassador to China fired after making more controversial comments about Meng Wanzhou case

    George Soros calls Xi Jinping the world’s “most dangerous opponent” to open societies

    Bing is back! Microsoft’s search engine is no longer blocked in China

    Chinese meat giant’s stocks surge after founder returns home following 3-year “disappearance”

    Canada’s ambassador to China says Meng Wanzhou has a “strong case” for fighting extradition

    China has blocked Bing

    Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun detained in China

    McDonald’s accused of supporting Taiwan independence with “controversial” commercial

    Massive sky corridor connected atop four skyscrapers in Chongqing

    Huawei founder says his company does not spy for China and would refuse if Beijing asked

    China issues travel alert of its own, warning its citizens about visiting Canada

  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO

    WATCH: Dad spotted driving on snowy road, pulling son behind in tire sled

    This is what a ¥10,000 seafood dinner looks like in Guangzhou

    WATCH: Heroic firefighter drags burning gas cylinder out of house

    WATCH: How to run a tea scam at Starbucks

    WATCH: Dude writes Chinese calligraphy on stone with power grinder

    WATCH: Rodrigo Duterte, Kim Jong-un impersonators mobbed in Hong Kong

    WATCH: Incredible synchronized performance from Shaolin students at this year’s Spring Festival Gala

    WATCH: Aerial footage of massive 5 km long traffic jam on Guangdong expressway during CNY rush

    PLA soldiers celebrate Chinese New Year by forming the shape of Peppa the Pig

    Photography Friday: An interview with Huang Xiaoliang

    Hangzhou hotel opens up hot pot-style hot spring for hungry guests

    Boy puts lit fireworks down manhole cover, blows up sidewalk

    Meet the kids who grew up in Chinese restaurants

    WATCH: Apple marks Chinese New Year with short, sweet film shot by Jia Zhangke on an iPhone XS

    Chinese internet falls in love with big fluffy emotional support dog on passenger plane

    WATCH: Bull escapes slaughterhouse, charges woman in restaurant

    WATCH: Aerial footage of Wuhan’s mindblowingly massive bullet train maintenance center

    WATCH: Shanxi principal replaces boring morning exercise routine with super cool dance moves

    WATCH: Laowai rents a Chinese dad

    WATCH: Chinese passersby get asked if they live in a democratic country

  • EVENTS
    • DINING
      • BRUNCH
      • AFTERNOON TEA
    • NIGHTLIFE
      • LADIES’ NIGHT
      • HAPPY HOUR
      • MUSIC
    • EXHIBITIONS
      • ART SHOWS
      • TRADE FAIRS
    • COMMUNITY
    • EDUCATION
    • ★ LIST YOUR EVENT
    • ★ BE A VENUE PARTNER
    • ★ SUBMIT A GALLERY
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result
Shanghaiist
No Result
View All Result

North Korea exporting meth to China

by joelherrick
May 5, 2018
in News

meth-in-ruili-yunnan.jpg
A Chinese woman smokes crystal meth, in Yunnan near the Chinese border with Myanmar. Picture from Sino-NK via Democratic Voice of Burma.

Jende Huang writes on Sino-NK about the illicit trade in crystal meth between North Korea and China. Curiously, China doesn’t seem to be too keen in reprimanding the DPRK for the production and export of meth, or bingdu (冰毒) in Chinese.

Though the North Korean government would never admit to outsiders that there is a drug problem in the country, the Daily NK has filed many reports over the past several years about this phenomena, suggesting that “bingdu” (what the North Koreans call meth) is available practically at epidemic levels inside the DPRK. Articles claim, among other things, that commodity prices rise and fall depending on the harshness of ongoing crackdowns on bingdu; that middle schoolers in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province, were caught producing bingdu; that teenagers give it as a birthday gift to peers; and, most recently, that Kim Jong-Un had ordered a crackdown on bingdu producers, sellers, and users. Quotes from defectors and sources who spoke to the Daily NK report that anywhere from ¼ to ½ of the population in North Korea are using the drug. And as reported by Isaac Stone Fish in Newsweek, bingdu is often taken as a replacement for medicine in the DPRK. The general consensus appears to be that the North Korean government has taken a backseat to its citizens when it comes to the production and distribution of meth. This includes possible collaboration between criminal gangs in the DPRK and China.
…
Almost a decade ago, in 2004, the Deputy Secretary General of China’s National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) and Director-General of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security Yang Fengrui was asked about drug smuggling from the DPRK into China. Yang responded that, “there are indeed cases of drug trafficking from the DPRK to China. However, since there are more than 100,000 drug trafficking cases in China each year with only several are related to the DPRK, the proportion is very small. Most of the drugs that bring harm to China are from the Golden Triangle.” He then went on to list “Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Nepal and some other countries” as the countries of origin of some recently captured drug traffickers. Although Yang sidestepped the impact of the North Korean drug trade, a recent report in the Dong-A Ilbo claims that the Chinese government (working with South Korean intelligence agencies) have seized 60 million USD worth of drugs from the DPRK in recent years.
The shift from denial to quiet interdiction most likely stems from two causes, the first being the abovementioned loss of production control from the North Korean government. The market forces that drive production in response to Chinese and other foreign demand over the past decade are causing larger and larger waves of meth to be washed up into northeastern China. The second cause could be driven by Beijing’s frustration with Pyongyang’s intransigence over the nuclear issue. Though unwilling to press the DPRK too hard, China may find cracking down on illicit drugs a more subtle way to exert pressure on the North Koreans, even if the bingdu isn’t directly coming from or benefiting the government.

More on North Korea here.


Follow @shanghaiist

Share this:

  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Print
Shanghaiist

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Join the Community
  • List Your Event
  • Be a Venue Partner
  • Submit a Gallery
  • Work with us
  • Privacy & Terms
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • L!FE
  • FOOD
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO
  • EVENTS
    • DINING
      • BRUNCH
      • AFTERNOON TEA
    • NIGHTLIFE
      • LADIES’ NIGHT
      • HAPPY HOUR
      • MUSIC
    • EXHIBITIONS
      • ART SHOWS
      • TRADE FAIRS
    • COMMUNITY
    • EDUCATION
    • ★ LIST YOUR EVENT
    • ★ BE A VENUE PARTNER
    • ★ SUBMIT A GALLERY
  • TICKETS
    • FAQ

© 2005-2018 Shanghaiist - China in bite-sized portions!