North Korea’s inns become havens for drug deals as crackdowns intensify

Inns across North Korea are being converted into hubs for drug dealing and use as intensifying state crackdowns push narcotics activity further underground, a source in South Hamgyong province told Daily NK on Wednesday. 

“The number of people using inns in Hamhung has noticeably increased recently, and people are saying this is directly linked to drugs,” the source said. “A significant number of inn users are people engaging in drug deals or using drugs.”

While inns in North Korea are officially designated as lodging facilities for travelers and those on business from other regions, the source said they have become primary venues for illicit activity.

Bribery at the front desk

North Korea enacted its anti-narcotics law in July 2021 in response to persistent drug manufacturing, trafficking and use, stipulating severe penalties including hard labor sentences and, in serious cases, the death penalty. But the source said the crackdowns have made drug activity more covert rather than less common.

“People who trade methamphetamine in units of tens to hundreds of grams often test the product before paying, so transactions take time,” the source said. “Doing it at home carries a high risk of getting caught, so they use inns to stay out of sight.”

Under North Korean rules, inn guests are required to present their national ID and travel permit, and a record of their visit is kept. But those involved in drug deals are reportedly bribing inn staff to let them check in without documents and without being logged.

Inspections of inns are infrequent, the source added, and when they do occur, staff can lock the doors and feign vacancy to avoid detection.

Inns are also being used as consumption sites. “People who use drugs buy methamphetamine and then pay inn staff to rent a room where they use it,” the source said. “Many go to inns specifically to hide their drug use from their families.”

Affairs and exposure

The source noted that inns have also become a go-to venue for extramarital affairs. In early March, a couple involved in an affair was caught leaving an inn in Hamhung by a family member and publicly humiliated on the street.

The source attributed the transformation of inns into venues for drugs and infidelity to a predictable dynamic: the harder authorities crack down, the more people seek out spaces beyond the reach of enforcement.

“If it becomes known that inns are being used for drugs or affairs, the authorities will tighten inn inspections too,” the source said. “But people will simply find another third location to go to. The cat-and-mouse game between the state trying to crack down and people trying to evade it will keep going.”

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