Dead North Korean Man Found on Ganghwado Island... Possession of Drugs Equivalent to Thousands (Comprehensive)

NIS: "Possibility of Drowning While Attempting to Defect"
"No Suspicion of Espionage... May Be Involved in Drug Crimes"

The body of a North Korean man with drugs tied to his legs was found in the Incheon Ganghwa Island area, a fact that was confirmed belatedly. Related agencies are reportedly investigating with the possibility that the man drowned while attempting to defect.

The National Intelligence Service stated on the 27th, “On the 19th, our military discovered a body presumed to be a North Korean civilian male along the Ganghwa Island coastline and conducted a joint intelligence investigation with related agencies.”

According to government sources, the body was found last week by fishermen engaged in fishing activities in the waters around Ganghwa Island. The body was wearing shorts and had Styrofoam attached to it.

Authorities believe that the man attempted to defect by crossing the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea using a life buoy but died in the process. In fact, there have been numerous past cases of defectors swimming across the West Sea with Styrofoam or similar flotation devices attached.

Further investigation confirmed that the man was carrying approximately 70 grams of drugs presumed to be methamphetamine. This amount is sufficient for simultaneous use by more than 2,000 people.

The National Intelligence Service said, “A suspected drug substance was found among the belongings, and a detailed compositional analysis has been requested from the National Forensic Service. If confirmed as drugs, they will be disposed of in accordance with the Narcotics Control Act and related laws.”

They added, “The Ministry of Unification will decide on whether to hand over the body to North Korea according to the North Korean Resident Body Handling Guidelines (Prime Minister’s Directive).”

Initial investigations indicate there is no suspicion of espionage, and the man is believed to be a civilian with a low likelihood of being a North Korean soldier. Given that he was carrying drugs, there is also speculation that he may have defected due to involvement in drug-related crimes.

According to the ‘North Korean Human Rights White Paper 2022’ published last year by the Korea Institute for National Unification, drugs have recently become a serious social problem in North Korea. The widely used drug in North Korea is methamphetamine, commonly called “Philopon,” known locally as “bingdu” or “eoreum” (meaning “ice”).

The price of bingdu is about $20 to $30 per gram, which is expensive considering North Korea’s cost of living. As a result, bingdu initially spread among economically well-off party officials, and from the late 2000s, a significant number of ordinary citizens also began using it.

In the past, North Korea is known to have engaged in state-level opium cultivation and drug manufacturing and trafficking during the 1980s and 1990s to earn foreign currency. When drug trafficking became an international issue, Kim Jong-il, then Chairman of the National Defense Commission, issued a top-secret directive in 2002 to ban drug cultivation and trafficking.

However, the military and special agencies did not give up this lucrative source of income, and especially during the mid-1990s “Arduous March” period, drug control was neglected, leading to widespread drug use in North Korean society.

As a result, many defectors who come to South Korea suffer from the aftereffects of drug addiction. A survey found that between 2015 and 2018, 43% of incarcerated defectors were drug offenders.