[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 99 (Tuesday, July 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H6276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NORTH KOREA SELLING HEROIN TO PAY FOR NUKES

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, a couple of months ago, a North Korean ship, 
the Pong Su, was captured while trying to transfer $80 million worth of 
heroin to a fishing boat off the coast of Australia. This incident 
confirms that the rogue regime of Kim Jong Il is selling drugs to 
tighten his grip on power and prolong his reign of terror.
  The evidence tying this evil regime to the drug trade is 
overwhelming. One of the 26 people aboard the Pong Su was a member of 
the North Korean ruling party who served as a senior envoy in 
Pyongyang's embassy in Beijing.
  At a recent hearing in the Senate, a former high-ranking North Korean 
official testified that Kim Jong Il has personally designated land in 
North Korea for the growth of opium. And U.S. State Department 
officials have concluded that the illegal drug program is sanctioned by 
the North Korean Government, who is using it to fund its weapons 
programs.
  This incident is a reminder that North Korea will stop at nothing to 
expand its nuclear arsenal.

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