| A North Korean defector says the Pong Su - a North Korean freighter allegedly involved in smuggling drugs into Australia - was acting on orders from the North Korean regime. Australian Special Forces boarded the freighter last month, after a five-day chase. The captain and crew were arrested on suspicion of helping bring tens of millions of dollars worth of heroin into the country. Speaking before a US Senate Committee, a former high-ranking North Korean official says the Pong Su was being operated by Pyongyang. "The North Korean regime has been very busy making and selling the illegal drugs to support the cash-strapped regime," the official said. "North Korea must be the only country, as far as I can tell, on the entire globe to run a drug business on a state level." The defector gave his evidence behind a screen to conceal his identity. |