Russian officials said Thursday that two North Korean citizens were arrested in the Maritime Territory in the Russian Far East carrying eight kilograms of heroin. Major Oleg Sharapov of the Maritime Territory's police force to combat drug traffic, reached by phone in Vladivostok, said it was not the first drug smuggling case in the area involving North Koreans, but refused to provide details of the operation pending official permission from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Federal Counterintelligence Service, which took part in the operation, said the heroin was worth $1 million. The newspaper Sevodnya alleged Thursday that Kim Il Sung's Stalinist leadership organized the production and overseas sale of illegal drugs in North Korea to aid the nation's ailing economy. Sevodnya said two North Korean diplomats were arrested in Sweden two years ago with a kilogram of heroin.
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