A little bit about that fertilizer the South is sending to the North. Really great people up there.
Fertilizer that South Korea gives to North Korea is used to grow opium plants, said an organization of South Koreans who fled the North during the Korean War.
The group, called Iebukdominhoi, reported in its newsletter Donghwa Shinmun this week that a defector support organization in China said that Room 39 of the North's Labor Party, which specializes in earning hard currency, has been distributing the fertilizer given by the South. The paper said the fertilizer had gone to farms throughout at least four provinces - North Hamgyeong, South Hamgyeong, Jagang and Yanggang - and that North Korea authorities have mandated that at least 30 percent of the acreage on some farms be devoted to growing opium poppies. Those farms had staff that specialize in growing the poppies, the report said.
| And what was the difference between a Commie and a drug dealer? Oh, yeah. That's right. The uniform... |
An official at the Ministry of Unification said that it was hard to confirm the report, because North Korea, in its confirmation documents, only discloses where the fertilizer is sent. The opium grown at these farms is processed at the Nanam Pharmaceutical Factory in Cheongjin, North Hamgyeong province and the Suncheong Pharmaceutical Factory in Suncheon, South Pyeongan province, the report said. The narcotics are exported overseas in 400-gram or 1-kilogram packages. The report said that a Hong Kong dealer had secretly visited the Nanam factory recently.
North Korea started growing poppies in 1992 on the orders of former President Kim Il Sung. The project was called "Baikdoraji Saeop," which translates to "white balloon flower project." The current leader Kim Jong Il changed the name of the project in 1999 to "Piramidon Saeop" - the meaning of which is not quite clear.
Not much that Kimmme does is very clear. |