Methamphetamine was probably not the first thought that comes to mind when thinking of North Korea, but now a days it is a very commonly offered thing amongst friends and in social groups. Widespread use of the drug makes a whole hell of a lot of sense these days for the Kim regime to produce and allow for the distribution of amongst the population, most of which is starving. I guess the regime thought, "Hey, there's one good way to deal with a lack of food and to keep up production...Meth!". All of the following research was done by me and I left the citations in the notes in case anybody wanted to back-track my information.

North Korea’s participation in illicit activities is extensive, acting as one of the primary sources for the nation’s economic survival. In particular the state regulated production and distribution as well as international trafficking of illegal drugs, and counterfeit prescription drugs and cigarettes, is the most documented and longest running of these activities. Evidences linking North Korea’s involvement in drug trafficking goes back to the mid 1970’s, one researcher counting 77 different incidents of North Korean drug trafficking between 1976 to 2004(Chestnut, Greitens, Sheena). Since then, there has been changes in the economic incentives, in the drugs being produced and distributed, in the method of trafficking, and in the involvement of the government as well as the target audiences, most of which took place in the 1990’s. During this time, Kim Jong-Il stressed the importance of opium in creating hard currency as well as spent a significant amount of time traveling to meetings discussing North Korea’s approach on growing poppies, even to the extent that Kim Jong-Il had to escort Southeast Asian “drug lords” (Hurst, p.36). Despite these changes over time, North Korea and the Kim regime have continued to participate in illicit drug trafficking in the most lucrative ways possible.

It is theorized that their involvement was to have been framed in a specific way which conformed to the Nation’s deeply embedded ideologies including self-reliance, anti-imperialism, anti-Americanism, and national independence from foreign influence(known as juche ideology). This was one of the first ways that the Kim regime integrated the cultivation of illegal drugs into North Korean society. At first, North Korea tried to get away with using diplomats who hoped to use immunity as a safety net to internationally buy, smuggle and eventually resell drugs like alcohol, cigarettes, and hashish, as well as some opiates. The number of North Korean diplomats who were caught in large international drug seizures reflects this tactic. During this time the country as a whole spent even more energy focused on the domestic cultivation of poppies which were then sold as other domestically produced opiate based drugs like opium. (Chestnut, Greitens, Sheena)

The poppies were cultivated collectively and were meant to be distributed internationally in large quantity. International seizures and defector stories provide evidence for the existence and regulation of poppy fields for the intention of illicit drug trafficking in the 1970’s. However the embarrassing and repeated diplomatic involvement and commercial consequences for the nation directed them to begin building relations with already solidified international crime syndicates< that helped facilitate the distribution of their illicit drugs. Crime syndicates include the Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, or Russian Mafia in which North Korea has diplomatic or commercial relationships with each country (Hurst, pp. 36-37). In the 1980's NK begun dealing with organized crime, then in the 1990's the NK govt focused primarily on the production while organized crime syndicates were the primary source of transport and distribution. (Chestnut, Greitens, Sheena).

The 1990’s was a decade of natural, political, and economic disaster for North Korea. Economic aid from China and Russia was halting and an agricultural disaster was underway, leaving the nation starving and desperate. During this time the main drugs manufactured and exported were still opiates like opium or heroin. In 1993, a large factory with the sole intention of manufacturing heroin was installed in North Korea. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service claims that between the years 1992 and 1999, North Korea’s production of opium increased from 3 tons to over 50 tons. It was also claimed that they had produced over 5 tons of heroin and morphine in 1999. During this time, one defector claims that every collective farm was ordered to cultivate at least 25 acres of poppies in the later half of the 1990’s and estimates of between 4,000 and 7,200 hectares of land are specifically designated by the government for poppy production. (Hwang) During the Clinton Administration the CIA has estimated between 10,000 and 17,000 acres of land designated for poppy cultivation in North Korea, allowing between 30-44 tons of opium to be produced as well as 3-4.5 tons of heroin. (Hwang) The drought and agricultural disaster, political instability and economic mismanagement all lead to the philosophy behind the government backed poppy cultivation in North Korea. This philosophy details that the same amount of land can produce poppies to be sold for 10 times as much as the food grown on the same land would be. Because of the drought in the 1990’s and the impact that it had on opium production, North Korea decided to begin producing a new type of drug that could be synthetically manufactured.

In the late 1990’s the production of heroin in North Korea began to be supplemented by a synthetic stimulant drug known as methamphetamine. It was economic of the North Korean’s to begin producing methamphetamine because of the proximity to Japan, where the world’s largest consumers of methamphetamine are creating a growing market. Some estimates report that Japan has an annual usage of $15 Billion in methamphetamine, with an estimated 600,000 addicts. (Hwang) Between 1998 and 2001, Japanese Customs reported to have seized 2,473 pounds of methamphetamines from North Korea. This is second to Chinese Customs who reported seizing 3,916 pounds of methamphetamine from North Korea, showing the profitability of exporting the drug(Hwang). Producing methamphetamines also does not require the use of any natural resources and is produced cheaply without special equipment. The hardest issue that North Korea has in the production of methamphetamines is importing raw materials used in the process, the hardest for example being ephedrine. In 1998, Thai police stopped an Indian shipment of 2.5 tons of ephedrine bound for Pyongyang suggesting a possibility of use as a raw material in methamphetamine production. (Hwang)

Involvement in the drug trade is primarily driven by the economic need for hard currency in order to fill the bloated desires of the Kim regime and the unaffordable militaristic needs of the country, which today includes a wildly expensive nuclear program. While these drugs are intended to be exported for money, still some domestic issues with the abuse of these drugs, methamphetamines particularly, have a place in North Korean social culture. Methamphetamines are commonly offered to officers or in social settings, Cannabis is a socially accepted drug to use, and other opiates are sometimes socially accepted. The government claims they only grow poppies for pharmaceutical purposes, however international surveillance suggests otherwise. Without social or legal repercussions, the production and distribution of these drugs is facilitated at different levels of government. The international seizures of large drug shipments from North Korea expose a to what level is the government involved in the production and/or distribution of illicit drugs and give the outside world an inside look. While at first the government seemed to facilitate much of the distribution of drugs, it became internationally embarrassing for North Korea and so relationships with organized crime syndicates grew to be the main distributors of the drugs. While these changes may have taken place over the past several decades, the one thing that has not changed is the effort continued by the government to maintain the production of illicit drugs that can be distributed internationally. To North Korea, and the Kim regime, this means whatever can give them the highest return and whatever has the most economic incentive to produce, and thus guarantees their participation in the international drug-trade.

Sources:

Greitens, Sheena Chestnut. Illicit: North Korea's Evolving Operations to Earn Hard Currency. Washington, D.C.: Committee for >Human Rights in North Korea, 2014.
Hurst, Cindy A. "North Korea: Government-Sponsored Drug Trafficking." Military Review, vol. 85, no. 5, Sep/Oct2005, pp. 35-37.
Hwang, Balbina Y. "Curtailing North Korea's Illicit Activities." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation, 25 Aug. 2003.