North Korean Economy Watch

According to the Daily NK:

Kim Jong Il was less active in the first quarter of 2011 than in the same period of last year, clocking just 35 public appearances in comparison with 41 in 2010.

The news was revealed by the Ministry of Unification this morning, following its periodic analysis of North Korean TV and radio news reports.

Kim’s most regular companion during his first quarter nationwide on-site inspections was the director of the Party’s Light Industry Department, sister Kim Kyung Hee, who was by his side 28 times.

Revealing the statistics, Ministry spokesperson Lee Jong Ju explained, “Although this is less than the 41 cases in the same period last year, when compared to the average number of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il’s public appearances in the first quarter since 1999, 21, it can be seen as relatively active.”

The statistics reveal a total of 12 appearances by Kim at sites in the economic sphere, ten appearances at performances by various groups, and nine events involving the military.

“Appearances are focused on the economic sphere at the beginning of most years, which can be seen as an attempt to encourage more results,” Lee also pointed out. 40% of Kim’s total of 161 on-site appearances in 2010 were in the economic sphere, and were concentrated in the first quarter in 2009 as well as 2010.

“Particularly, the fact that Chairman Kim Jong Il is making a talking point out of self-reliant production and the CNC technology of industrial facilities at every industrial location he has visited this year is interesting,” Lee added, noting the oft-drawn link between modern technology and the succession propaganda of Kim Jong Eun.

Behind Kim Kyung Hee on the record of visits came Party Propaganda Secretary Kim Ki Nam (24), Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Kim Jong Eun and Party Administration Secretary Tae Jong Su (22 each), and National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Jang Sung Taek (20).

“North Korea can thus be said to be a place running a system with family at its core,” Lee concluded.

Read the full story here:
Kim Maintains Economic Focus in 1st Quarter
Daily NK
Kim So Yeol
2011-4-20

UPDATE 1: Some of these pictures were picked up by RFA, SBS, Choson Ilbo, Money Today (ROK), Donga Ilbo, KBS

(ORIGINAL POST): Google has uploaded some new imagery of the DPRK.  I am still going through it, but here are some highlights:

1. Namhung Youth Chemical Complex (남흥청년화학련합기업소: 39.657983°, 125.697516°) has seen the addition of a anthracite gasification compound.

Image dates are located in the top left corner.

This facility is one of many that is being rebuilt as part of the DPRK’s 2012 Kangsong Taeguk (강성대국) policy. See also here, here, here, here, here.

NTI offers additional information on the complex:

Subordinate to: 5th Machine Industry Bureau (第5機械産業總局), Second Economic Committee (第2經濟委員會) for chemical weapons production, and the Ministry of Chemical Industry (化學工業省) for civilian production

Size: Annual chemical production capacity of approximately 550,000 tons (combined), including 400,000 tons of urea; anticipated (2001) production capacity of 20,000 tons per year for synthetic fibers (e.g., Orlon) and resins

Primary Function: Production of major civilian chemical products including ammonia, ethylene, fertilizers, fibers, and paper; possible production of blood agents (e.g., cyanogen chloride) and blister agents (e.g., mustard)

*Note: This chemical complex is located in an area known as the “Ch’ŏngch’ŏngang/Anju-Kong’ŏpjigu ‘industrial district’ (淸川江/ 安州工業地區).” “Kong’ŏpjigu” means “industrial district,” but it is not a formal administrative unit in North Korea. In this case, its use is analogous to “Silicon Valley” in California. The Ch’ŏngch’ŏngang-Kongŏpjigu district, known as the center of North Korea’s chemical industry, is spread over Kaech’ŏn and Anju, South P’yŏng’an Province, and over Pakch’ŏn-kun, which is adjacent to both Kaech’ŏn and Anju but in North P’yŏng’an Province.

Description: Constructed in 1976, this facility was originally built with French, Japanese, and (West) German equipment. As of 1998, it was the only petrochemical plant in North Korea capable of processing seven different hydrocarbon products, including naphtha and ethylene. Naphtha is brought in from the Sŭngni and Ponghwa chemical factories. New equipment has been brought in (2000) to produce sodium carbonate, and plans in 2001 called for the manufacture of Orlon, polyethylene, propylene resins at a capacity of 20,000 tons per year. The Namhŭng Youth Complex has a French-built polyethylene production facility that uses intermediates of propylene and butane. There is also equipment imported from Japan that is used to produce ethylene, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. This facility obtains its electricity from the Ch’ŏngch’ŏn River Thermoelectric Power Plant, which is about 4km away. Considering the ethylene oxide production capacity, it is plausible that blister agents (such as mustard) or their immediate precursors could be produced here. Otherwise, it is difficult to discern the clear relationship between this plant and ongoing CW activity in North Korea. The 16th Nuclear Chemical Defense Battalion under the Nuclear Chemical Defense Bureau is reportedly billeted here and in reserve status.

2. Juche Academy (39.029590°, 125.612762°) gets spruced up:

The Juche Academy is most well known outside the DPRK as the former employer of Hwang Jang-yop (황장엽), the DPRK’s most senior defector. He passed away on  October 10, 2010. Two North Korean spies were recently found guilty in South Korea for conspiring to assassinate him.

3. New KPA position on NLL in West Sea: In the most recent issue of KPA Journal, Joseph Bermudez provides satellite imagery of a new KPA Navy hovercraft base in Ryongyon County (룡연군: 38.195758°, 124.903548°).  The DPRK also appears to be constructing a new military facility further south in Kangryon County (강령군: 37.6831241°, 125.3428459°)–about 18.5 miles/29.5km west of Yonpyong.  Here is an overview of the site location:

Below I provide a closeup of the facility with some explanation:

Buildings: I have outlined uncompleted buildings in Yellow.  There appear to be two left.  The three completed (or nearly completed) buildings are probably administrative in nature  and are typical of KPA naval bases in the area (see more here).

Surroundings: A new road has been constructed to access the facility. Additionally an opening has been made in the electrified beach defense wall.  It is likely a jetty or dock will be built on the coast where North Korean naval vessels may be kept.

Dimensions: The main facility rectangle is approximatley 186m x 118m (appx  21984 sq. m.)

If any military specialists see this, I would love to hear your thoughts.

4. New Airfield?: It is near Kumsong-ri, Jungsan County, South Pyongan (금송리, 증산군: 39.095128°, 125.441483°).  It appears to be for small aircraft.

It is conceivable that this is come sort of training facility.  Other ideas welcome.

5. Orascom’s Koryolink mobile phone towers: I am convinced that the images below are of Koryolink mobile phone towers.  They are identical, new, and popping up all over the country.  Below are just three.

6. Strange Tower: Located in the remote eastern section of Musan County (무산군:  42.173132°, 129.492721°), this tower is one of the more unique in the DPRK.

There appears to be a cable or wires leading from the tower to a remote control facility at the base of the mountain.  I could be wrong about this, so if any readers know better, please let me know.

7. The Changsong Leadership Compound: Finally in high resolution (40.441270°, 125.114379°).

This compound lies on a Yalu River bay just across from China. Kenji Fujimoto stayed here a few times and took pictures.  They still match! I have posted them here, here, here, here, here, and here.

According to the Daily NK:

Kim Jong Il and successor Kim Jong Eun recently posed for a commemorative picture in front of Mt. Keumsoo Memorial Palace in Pyongyang alongside the attendees at a conference of model logistics and munitions workers.

The North Korean authorities released news of the conference, held for two days over the 24th and 25th, through Chosun Central Broadcast (the state-run radio station), Chosun Central TV, in Rodong Shinmun and on the propaganda website ‘Uriminjokkiri’.

According to the North Korean media reports, Kim Jong Il said, “Cadres and workers in the munitions section devote themselves to the management of weapons and materials for weapons technology without reputation or reward, and without regard to popular recognition.”

Kim called them “the conscience of humanity, real patriots, precious national treasures and magnificent comrade gunstocks of our Party.”

According to defectors, this is the first time that the authorities have held a model workers’ conference specifically for the munitions sector.

The reason why Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Eun made a show of their participation is likely to be because they aim to awaken cadres and workers to a lack of wartime reserves and the need to raise morale. The participation of very high Party and military officials seems to back this interpretation.

The attending model workers would appear to be from the Logistics General Bureau, which is in charge of stocking North Korea’s reserves; it is a group whose activities are ordinarily top secret. Therefore, it is unusual for the authorities to have organized this event, particularly so publicly.

The North Korean authorities have had one eye firmly on the country’s war reserves since Kim Il Sung was alive. Kim himself told planners to “secure enough wartime reserves for two months even if they do nothing.” Accordingly, the Bureau has trucks loaded with reserve materials such as gas, clothes, rice and communication tools on standby at all times. For security, they apparently let down the tires.

However, slack discipline in the military and Party results in the usage of military reserves, not to mention their theft, as shown by the stealing of gasoline and other materials from a military depot in Chongjin which was released by The Daily NK on the 17th of this month.

According to the North Korean media, the event was attended by Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Lee Young Ho, Director of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces Kim Young Chun, Defense Commission Vice Chairman Jang Sung Taek, First-Vice-Director of the General Political Bureau of the Army Kim Jeong Kak, Party Secretary Park Do Chun, First Vice-Director of the Ministry of the Munitions Industry of the Central Committee of the Party Ju Kyu Chang, Vice Director of the General Political Department of the People’s Army Kim Won Hong, Director of the Operation Department of the Army Kim Myeong Kuk, Naval Commander Lee Byeong Cheol, among others.

You can read the whole story here:
Munitions Sector Gets Public Attention’
Daily NK
Kang Mi Jin
3/25/2011

Pictured Above: Pipagot Naval Base  (Google Earth: 38°35’40.17″N, 124°58’38.49″E)

UPDATE (3/28/2011): According to Strategy Page:

North Korea has apparently been building an improved version of its Song (Shark) class mini-sub. The 250 ton Sang is actually a coastal sub modified for special operations. The original design is a 34 meter (105 feet) long boat with a snorkel and a top submerged speed of 17 kilometers an hour (or 13 kilometers an hour when at periscope depth using the snorkel to run the diesel engines). Top surface speed is 13 kilometers an hour. Max diving depth is 150 meters (465 feet) and the boat is designed to rest on the ocean bottom (useful when trying to avoid enemy search). There is a crew of 15, plus either six scuba swimmer commandos, or a dozen men who can go ashore in an inflatable boat. Some Songs have two or four torpedo tubes. Max endurance is about eight days. The new model is 39 meters (121 feet) long and is believed to have a max submerged speed of 27 kilometers an hour. Over 40 Songs have been built so far, and one was captured by South Korea when it ran aground in 1996. At least half a dozen are of the new model.

North Korea has a fleet of over 80 mini-subs, plus about 24 older Russian type conventional boats (based on late-World War II German designs, as adapted for Russian service as the Whiskey and Romeo class). China helped North Korea set up its own submarine building operation, which included building some of the large Romeo class subs. North Korea got the idea for minisubs from Russia, which has had them for decades. North Korea has developed several mini-sub designs, most of them available to anyone with the cash to pay.

The most popular mini-sub is the M100D, a 76 ton, 19 meter (58 foot) long boat that has a crew of four and can carry eight divers and their equipment. The North Koreans got the idea for the M100D when they bought the plans for a 25 ton Yugoslav mini-sub in the 1980s. Only four were built, apparently as experiments to develop a larger North Korean design. There are to be over 30 M100Ds, and they can be fitted with two torpedoes that are carried externally, but fired from inside the sub.

North Korea is believed to have fitted some of the Songs and M100Ds with acoustic tiles, to make them more difficult to detect by sonar. This technology was popular with the Russians, and that’s where the North Koreans were believed to have got the technology.

The most novel design is a submersible speedboat. This 13 meter (40 foot) boat looks like a speedboat, displaces ten tons and can carry up to eight people. It only submerges to a depth of about 3.2 meters (ten feet). Using a snorkel apparatus (a pipe type device to bring in air and expel diesel engine fumes), the boat can move underwater. In 1998, a South Korean destroyer sank one of these. A follow-on class displaced only five tons, and could carry six people (including one or two to run the boat). At least eight of these were believed built.

The use of a North Korea midget sub to sink a South Korean corvette in March, 2010, forced the United States, and South Korea, to seriously confront the problems involved in finding these small subs in coastal waters. This is a difficult task, because the target is small, silent (moving using battery power) and in a complex underwater landscape, that makes sonar less effective.

There are some potential solutions. After the Cold War ended in 1991, the U.S. recognized that these coastal operations would become more common. So, in the 1990s, the U.S. developed the Advanced Deployable System (ADS) for detecting non-nuclear submarines in coastal waters. The ADS is portable, and can quickly be flown to where it is needed. ADS is believed to be in South Korea. ADS basically adapts the popular Cold War SOSUS system (many powerful listening devices surrounding the major oceans, and analyzing the noises to locate submarines) developed by the United States.

ADS consists of battery powered passive (they just listen) sensors that are battery powered and deployed by ship along the sea bottom in coastal waters. A fiber optic cable goes from the sensors (which look like a thick cable) back to shore, where a trailer containing computers and other electronics, and the ADS operators, runs the system. ADS has done well in tests, but it has never faced the North Korean mini-subs.

ORIGINAL POST (3/22/2011): According to the Choson Ilbo:

North Korea is building up its submarine force, deploying new Shark-class K-300 submarines with better performance, a longer body and higher underwater speed than the old model which infiltrated South Korean waters in 1996.

A South Korean government official said Sunday, “We’ve confirmed U.S. satellite images and other intelligence that the North has been building and deploying new Shark-class submarines for a few years now.

They’re about 5 m longer than the old 34 m-long model and capable of traveling submerged more than 10 km/h faster.”

The North has about 70 submarines and submersibles. The Shark class, which accounts for about 40 of them, is its main submarine force.

Below are additional stories about the DPRK’s submarine fleet and navy:

Still Waters Run Deep

DPRK’s midget subs torpedo equipped

DPRK naval bases near Baengnyong Island

KPN submarine bases in the East Sea

North Korea supplied submarines to Iran

Bermudez on the North Korean Navy

NKeconWatch Military resources page

According to Yonhap:

The monthly production from the South Korea-invested industrial park in North Korea exceeded US$30 million for the first time since tension escalated over the North’s torpedoing of a South Korean navy ship a year ago, the government said Sunday.

The Kaesong industrial complex produced $31.05 million worth of products in January, up 6.7 percent from $29.09 million in December, the Unification Ministry said.

It was the first time that the monthly production from the Kaesong complex topped $30 million since the attack took place in March last year. The complex produced $30.79 million worth of products that month.

Seoul suspended all cross-border trade after a multinational investigation found North Korea responsible for the March sinking of the warship Cheonan. Relations between the divided countries hit the worst point in more than a decade when the North shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November.

Despite the high tension, the annual production at the complex increased 26 percent to $323.32 million last year compared to a year earlier.

The rise appears to be due to the steady increase of North Koreans working in the complex.

A total of 46,194 North Koreans, up from 42,397 in January last year, now work in the communist state’s border town of Kaesong, providing labor for South Korean firms that produce goods such as clothes, utensils and watches.

The factory park was a result of the first inter-Korean summit that took place in Pyongyang in 2000. More than 120 South Korean firms operate in Kaesong, providing capital and know-how in exchange for cheap labor.

Previous posts about the Cheonan incident are here.

Previous posts about the Kaesong Industrial Zone are here.

Read the full story here:
Production at Kaesong complex returns to $30 million mark
Yonhap
3/20/2011

North Korean market footage
Kim Song Min  (김성민), founder of Free North Korea Radio, has posted some video footage of a North Korean market.

You might be able to see it here, but I make no promises. It definitely won’t work from China.

Nothing remarkable, but interesting.  Of course the market is dominated by female vendors.  Bread and dried squid were for sale.  Also, shoe shines seemed to be popular.

I wish I knew what people were saying in the background.

North Korean Legos
The Russian  blogger that brought us the DPRK’s Linux OS, the DPRK’s PDA device, and the DPRK’s film camera, now brings us the DPRK version of Legos:

Interestingly, the toys come with instructions in both English and Korean.  Maybe the producers are hoping for an opportunity to export in the future?  Finally some actual socialist building blocks behind which the children of the world can unite!  You can read more in Russian here.  You can read more in English here (via Google Translate)

Pyongyang Metro Photos
Most visitors to the DPRK visit the Puhung and Yongwang Metro Stations.  Satellite images here and here. Google has also cataloged lots of pictures pictures of these stations: Puhung, Yongwang.

The Ponghwa Metro Station is located at  39.012100°, 125.744452°–next to the Party Founding Museum.  This station is not visited by foreigners as often, but here are some photos: One, two, three, four.

The Kaeson Metro Station is next door to the Arch of Triumh (39.043059°, 125.754027°).  A friend sent some North Korean postcards that seem to come from this station, though the pictures look like they were taken in the 1970s: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven.

Pyongyang goes pop: sex scandal on the socialist music scene
According to a story in The Guardian:

There was mild controversy last year when a secret video featuring Wangjaesan’s female dance troupe entered the public domain. The video was being privately circulated among the elite, but reached the North Korean public before making it over the border to China – and therefore the world. Normally seen in traditional, body-cloaking hangbok dresses as they perform polite folk numbers, this little clip revealed unprecedented levels of sexiness in Pyongyang, as the girls popped up in sparkly hot pants and did the splits. Western displays of decadence like this are illegal but, given Kim Jong-il’s alleged love of pornography, perhaps he turned a blind eye to this one.

The video of the dancers can be found here (though it is a VERY slow download) or you can watch it on YouTube here and here.  I could not find a better version this time around.  Here is the original story in Yonhap (2009-11) when the story broke (with picture).

UPDATED: This video is allegedly of the same group.

The 4 of 31 fishermen
I have not spent much time blogging about the 4 of 31 North Korean fishermen who drifted to the South and do not wish to return to the DPRK.  I did track down the six videos the North Koreans filmed with the family members.  They were posted to YouTube by Uriminzokkiri.  See them here: One, two, three, four, five, six. If anyone can translate these, or give us a rough idea, I would apprecaite it.

KFA sets up branch in Israel!
Alejandro Cao de Benos seeks to build sympathy for the DPRK among the Israelis.

Socialist Haircut: Steve Gong has become the first non-North Korean (of whom I am aware) to receive one of the DPRK’s tradmark “socialist haircuts“:

Kim Il-sung Prize: The CNC Instrument Automatic Streamline is the 2011 winner of the prestigious Kim Il-sung prize.

According to KCNA:

Kim Il Sung Prize was awarded to the CNC instrument automatic streamline, according to a decree of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People′s Assembly issued Wednesday.

The streamline was newly developed by workers of the Unsan Instrument Factory and technicians of the Ryonha Machine Management Bureau.

Maybe the CNC machine will use the award funds to take the workers out to dinner!

You can learn more about the DPRK’s CNC campaign here.

Previous non-human award winners include: Arirang and the “light comedy,” Echo of Mountain [sic].

Some Culture: Suhang Pavilion, Jongsong Worker’s District (종성로동자구: 42°45’47.78″N, 129°47’40.13″E)

According to KCNA:

Pyongyang, August 3 (KCNA) — Suhang Pavilion which is located in Jongsong workers’ district in Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province, DPRK is valuable architectural heritage permeated with the wisdom and patriotism of the Koreans.

The pavilion is the only three-storied wooden building of loft-form in Korea. It was built as the general’s terrace of the walled town against foreign invaders in the early days of Ri Dynasty.

It is about 14.8 meters high. It dwindles from down to top to give a safe feeling. It, with hip-saddle roof and single eaves with plain pillar supporting device, has pillars arranged in a peculiar way.

The pavilion was used as frontier guard post at ordinary times and as commanding post of battle in a contingency.

It was called Roechon Pavilion at first. Later it was renamed Suhang Pavilion in the meaning that Koreans beat back foreign invaders and captured their boss to bring him to his knees there in 1608. The present building was rebuilt in the latter part of Ri Dynasty.

Today the pavilion, which was repaired as it was after the liberation of the country, serves as a cultural recreation place of the working people.

Pictured Above: Google Earth satellite image of the Hambuk Shipyard, Chongjn (Source: Daily NK)

According to the Daily NK:

A 33m-long submarine is being assembled at a munitions factory in Chongjin, North Hamkyung Province, a source has revealed.

This is the first time that news of submarines being assembled at Hambuk Dockyard has come to light. The source from Chongjin said, “Since they have been keeping totally silent about it, it was not revealed. But they have been assembling and producing submarines for a long time.”

The source went on, “The submarine is being assembled at the munitions factory at Hambuk Dockyard.” He explained further, “They brought the 33m-long main body of the submarine from Bongdae Boiler Factory in Shinpo, South Hamkyung Province and are installing the innards like electronic devices.”

The time when the main body was brought to Hambuk Dockyard was around the time of the Party Delegates’ Conference on September 28 last year, according to the source.

At that time, munitions factories under the Second Economic Commission in charge of weapons production decided to commemorate February 16th with weapons production achievements.

The source said that in a convention of factory workers, cadres read out a resolution, “Let’s face the glorious Party Delegates’ Conference with achievements of high political passion,” and “After completing the assembly of a submarine before February 16th, let’s offer gifts of loyalty to the General.”

However, he explained the current situation, “Since the economic situation has gotten worse and workers are frequently absent, it has not been completed yet. Their enthusiasm has gradually disappeared.”

He also said, “Some of the workers who were involved in the production process stole imported equipment such as cables, high-tensile paint and manometers and sold them in the market in secret, causing a commotion.”

Hambuk Dockyard is one of the three biggest dockyards in North Korea alongside Najin and Yudae. There, the 7,500 workers can produce freight vessels up to a displacement of 14,000 tons.

Meanwhile, Shinpo Boiler Factory is a front company run by Shinpo Dockyard. The dockyard produces fishing boats and has around 1,500 workers. Since 1980, they have produced submarines, mini-submarines and hovercraft.

Read the full story here:
Submarine in Production in Chongjin
Daily NK
Im Jeong Jin
2/15/2011

Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES)
NK Brief No. 11-02-08
2011-02-08

In last month’s New Year’s Joint Editorial, North Korean authorities reaffirmed the national drive to strongly develop the country’s light industrial sector by 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung. On February 2, the Choson Sinbo, the newspaper of the pro-North Korean residents’ league in Japan, proclaimed that all efforts were being focused on delivering high-quality light industrial goods by April of next year.

North Korea’s minister of light industry, forty-seven year old Hu Chul San, was interviewed by the paper’s Kook Jang Eun. Hu stated that light industrial zones already in operation would be further bolstered and the provision of raw materials would be prioritized for celebrations surrounding the 100-year birthday of the country’s founder.

The North Korean regime has set 2012 as the year in which it will “open the doors to a great and prosperous nation,” and Kim Il Sung’s April 15 birthdate has been set as the first target for economic revival. Just as in 2010, this year’s Joint Editorial called for light industrial growth and improvements in the lives of the North Korean people as the ‘strong and prosperous nation’ goal is pursued.

Minister Hu gave one example of the expected boost in production, stating that all students, from elementary school to university, would receive new school uniforms by next April. “Originally, school uniforms were issued to all students once every three years, but as the nation’s economic situation grew more difficult, [the regime] was unable to meet the demand.” He promised that for the 100-year anniversary, “Rationing would take place as it did when the Great Leader was here.”

The minister also explained that all preparations for distributing light industrial goods to the people next April needed to be completed by the end of this year, since Kim Il Sung’s birthday fell so early in the spring. He stated that a strong base had already been established for the production of high-quality goods, and that many organizations had already mass-produced high-quality goods for the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Korean Workers’ Party founding last year, offering the Pyongyang Sock Factory, the Sinuiju Textile Mill, the Botong River Shoe Factory, and the Pyongyang Textile Mill as examples.

When asked how North Korea would resolve raw material shortages, the minister explained that since the February 8 Vinalon Complex began operations last year, Vinalon and several other types of synthetic materials were available. The Sunchon Chemical Complex and other industries were also providing synthetic materials to light industrial factories throughout the country, strongly supporting indigenous efforts to increase production. He added, “Raw rubber, fuel and other materials absent from our country must be imported,” but that “national policies were being implemented” to ensure steady supply.

Minister Hu admitted that there was no shortage of difficulties, but that every worker was aware of the importance of meeting the April deadline, and that because raw material shortages were being resolved, light industries were now able to press ahead with full-speed production.

According to the Choson Ilbo:

Police have arrested a Chinese-South Korean gang on charges of trafficking 5.95 kg of North Korean-made methamphetamines into the South. The Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office said Sunday among the 13 people arrested is a 56-year-old man in Busan identified only as Kim who is linked to organized crime in the southern port city, and a 35-year-old Korean Chinese identified as Chung from Shenyang, Liaoning Province, also a suspected mafioso.

Kim allegedly received the drugs from Chung and smuggled them into Busan port on ships disguised as fishing trawlers, prosecutors said. Another member of the gang in Busan, who committed suicide last year, sold the drugs on to about a dozen different gangs throughout South Korea.

The arrested Chinese gangsters said they believed the methamphetamines were made in North Korea, prosecutors said. The 5.95 kg that were seized have a street value of W19.8 billion (US$1=W1,117).

It is widely known in the international community that North Korea is the source of various narcotics that are trafficked around the world.

South Korean police believe North Korean-made drugs are trafficked along two routes. The first is through the three Chinese provinces that border North Korea — Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang — where Chinese triads are involved in trafficking, for sale in China, South Korea and Japan. In August last year, one South Korean and two Japanese were arrested by Chinese police on charges of buying and selling 60 kg of North Korean methamphetamines in their hotel room in Shenyang. In July last year, three South Koreans were caught in Longjing smuggling 4.5 kg of North Korean methamphetamines. In 2009, 35 people were arrested in the three Chinese provinces on charges of drug trafficking, and most of them were apparently North Korean-made.

The other route is by ship directly to Australia, the Philippines or Japan. Some of these shipments involve hundreds of kilograms and lead to sharp decreases in the street price of meth. North Korean methamphetamine is known for its purity and apparently fetches high prices on the streets.

There have not been many DPRK drugs stories in the media for the last couple of years.  I wonder if production is down, arrests are down, demand is down, or the story is just too mundane to report. Anyone have any ideas?

In all fairness, the meth is only suspected of coming from the DPRK due to assumptions made by incarcerated Chinese gangsters. Maybe more helpful information will come out during the court proceedings.

Joshua wrote something about this nearly a year ago.

Read the full story here:
Mobsters Held in Smuggling of N.Korean Drugs
Choson Ilbo
2/7/2010