Special to WorldTribune.com

By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com

SEOUL — A growing number of North Koreans — from elite Party members in Pyongyang to farmers in remote areas — are involved in the lucrative drug smuggling routes to China. Many have become addicts in the process.

Defectors and analysts here said the Workers’ Party and military had long monopolized the production and smuggling of drugs as well as the all-important cash flow. But in recent years a growing number of ordinary farmers and market traders have become involved as well.

“In the past, narcotics were used secretly by elite members and those involved in foreign trade but recently drug use has spread down the ordinary people,” said Kim Seok-Hyang, a professor at Ewha Womans University, who has tracked the North’s drug issue.

“More than 70 percent of adults living in the border area with China, as well as large numbers of middle school students, and a significant portion of citizens in Pyongyang and other major cities are using narcotics,” she said.

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  heavy narcotic use, Lacking food and other basic needs, North Koreans are increasingly turning to drugs, Workers’ Party