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July 2004»
Pyongyang may have potent new cash raiser
By Andrew Ward in Seoul
Published: July 3 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: July 3 2004 5:00
North Korea appears to have found a new way to keep its flaccid
economy upright: selling fake Viagra
to South Koreans.
Police in Seoul yesterday arrested a local man for peddling bogus anti-impotence pills that he said were made in North Korea.
Drug-trafficking has been a crucial source of foreign currency for Kim Jong-il's cash-strapped regime for some time. But yesterday's seizure suggested the communist state was diversifying from illegal narcotics into mainstream therapeutic drugs.
"The pills are white, round and wrapped in aluminium foil,"
a police officer said, in contrast to the blue, oval-shaped Viagra
tablets made by Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical
giant.
Viagra has become by some estimates the world's most counterfeited drug since it was launched in 1998. Most fakes have come from China and India, and it is not verified that North Korea was the origin of the latest find.
North Korea is believed by the US to export drugs worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, making them the country's second-biggest source of revenue after missiles. US officials believe the North Korean military produces the drugs and Pyongyang's diplomats help to sell it overseas.
Washington and its allies have sought to clamp down on North Korea's drug-trafficking to put pressure on the country to scrap its nuclear weapons programme. Over the past two years, hauls of suspected North Korean heroin and amphetamines have been seized in Australia, Taiwan and South Korea.
North Korea's apparent recognition of the high global demand for anti- impotence treatments could reflect the increasingly entrepreneurial spirit in the country since the launch of economic reforms two years ago. State subsidies were removed from manufacturers, forcing them to focus on products that can generate a profit.
South Korean police said the fake Viagra was being sold in Seoul for Won5,000 ($4.30, €3.60, £2.40) a pill, compared with the Won15,000 price of the legitimate version. A Seoul pharmacist said the low price should make would-be buyers wary of "potentially dangerous" fake pills.
source :-http://news.ft.com/ | 
