|
|
|
N. Korea selling fake cigarettes: report
WASHINGTON, Feb. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korea may have switched from narcotics trafficking to selling counterfeit cigarettes to earn valuable foreign currency, a report by the U.S. State Department said Friday.
The annual report on international narcotics transactions said large quantities of counterfeit brand-name cigarettes that were likely made in North Korea are in circulation.
It said such proliferation can only be attributable to North Korean authorities not clamping down on criminal activities within their own borders or Pyongyang playing a role in production.
The report said that if the latter is the case, it could represent a policy shift away from the narcotics trade, which has drawn intense criticism from abroad, to a less "risky" way to make money.
Most of North Korea's foreign currency is earned by selling raw materials and agricultural and fisheries products, and limited trading in light industrial products with South Korea and China.
The latest findings by the State Department said there have been no documented cases of North Korea supporting illegal drugs since one of its ships was caught by Australian law enforcement in 2003 while transporting heroin.
However, it cited cases allegedly involving the movement and sale of North Korean counterfeit cigarettes up to last year.
(END)
|
| |
|
|
Home
