Looks like they have a bumper crop this year - from the Daily NK:
Middle school students in North Korea mobilized to harvest opium resin
The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) continues to cultivate large opium fields in the northern region of North Korea and recently mobilized school students to harvest the crop, according to sources inside the country.
“Most of the students were middle schoolers aged from 14 to 15 years old,” said a South Pyongan Province-based source. “The students collected the resin from the crops on orders from party and school officials at the farm, and also helped dry out the opium to produce opium powder.”
Poppy plants normally bloom in June and July, yielding fruit. Farmers must extract resin from the unripened fruit before they fully ripen in September in order to produce opium.
And why are they growing this?
As part of efforts during the 1980s to earn foreign currency, North Korea built an immense opium farm called Paekdoraji in the northern region of the country sprawling over the two Hamgyong provinces, Jagang Province and Ryanggang Province. A considerable workforce is needed to collect the opium resin and so the North Korean authorities appear to have resorted to mobilizing students in their teens.
Selling heroin overseas to make hard currency. Nice people. Wonder if they are selling fentanyl too...
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