A North Korean spy chief who defected said he helped manufacture crystal meth to make money for the regime – By Thomas Colson (Business Insider) / Oct 11 2021
- A former North Korean spy told the BBC he helped build a crystal meth lab for the regime.
- Kim Kuk-song said the funds were used by Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un’s father.
- Drug use is rife in North Korea where crystal meth is used casually by many citizens, reports said.
A North Korean spy chief who defected to South Korea described building a crystal meth lab to raise funds for the regime.
Kim Kuk Song spent 30 years working for North Korea’s spy agencies, where he rose through the ranks before fleeing to Seoul in 2014. Once there he worked for South Korean intelligence.
In an interview with the BBC, Kim said that he was ordered in the 1990s – under Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il – to raise money for the regime during a disastrous famine from 1994 to 1998 known as the “Arduous March.”
Kim told the BBC that to do this he set up a production line for crystal meth, also known as “ice,” in North Korea.
