Evolution of North Korean Drug Trafficking: State Control to Private Participation

IntroductionThe North Korean state has been suspected of sponsoring illicit drug trafficking for more than 20 years.1 The rogue state tightly controlled this industry. The ordinary citizens had no knowledge of the existence of drug trafficking.2 However, there are allegations3 that a growing number of civilian North Koreans have been aware of and involved with drug trafficking for personal profit.As a response to the aforementioned allegations, this paper tries to explore the evolution of North Korean drug trafficking from state control into substantial private participation. This study answers three research questions: (1) Is private participation in the North Korea drug trafficking substantial? (2) If so, what is the current state of the privately controlled North Korean illicit drug business? (3) How has North Korean drug operations evolved from tight state control to private participation?The authors have documented and evaluated this issue, and have adopted two feasible ways to collect data: from primary and supplementary sources. Primary data sources are in-depth interviews with North Korean defectors who were victims of human trafficking from North Korea into China. Supplementary data sources include various written documents, reports, and articles. The content analysis of these various written reports will be used as a supplement.4It has been found that the issue of North Korean drug trafficking has very few empirical studies. This may be due to the difficulty of obtaining empirical data as a result of the secluded nature of North Korea on one hand and the overemphasis on political, economic, and security matters of the North Korean state and relative neglect on criminal matters of North Korean private individuals among social scientists. Thus, this study has a certain merit in this regard.Historical Background of North Korean Drug TraffickingDue to North Korea's economic trouble,5 the North Korean state deliberately chose various transnational crime businesses including drug trafficking as a state policy to earn foreign currency.6 In the early 1970s, North Korean officials simply bought and sold foreign-sourced illicit drugs. Then, beginning in 1976, the state itself began to cultivate the opium poppy and sell the raw opium overseas.7 However, since raw opium was not very profitable, the state soon launched the refining process that turns raw opium into heroin. By the mid-1980s, the North Korean state had a wellestablished heroin production system. The state cultivated, refined, and exported products. During this period, illicit drug production and trafficking were under the strict control of the state. Most opium poppy farms were located on remote mountainsides which were strictly off limits to the ordinary population.8Since 1990, a series of international, economic, and environmental crises has significantly weakened the North Korean state.9 The state's production and distribution system collapsed. A substantial proportion of the North Korean population suffered from this economic disaster, known as the "March of Tribulation."10 According to a report written by David R. Hawk,11 people were forced to find a way to stay alive. A great number of people wandered around the country in search of food. Crime and black markets emerged. Also, many people escaped North Korea and illegally entered Russia or China. The North Korean state thus experienced great difficulties in controlling its population.12It was during this period that drug trafficking in North Korea became less cen- tralized and individuals participated in this illegal enterprise on a much larger scale to gain private profits or for personal use.13 There were even allegations that gang activity increased and criminal groups became meaningful players in drug trafficking.14 This private participation also expanded to transnational drug trafficking that originated from North Korea.15A Hypothesized Conceptual FrameworkThis study proposes a conceptual framework to explain how North Korean drug trafficking moved from state control towards private participation. …