South Korea, ASEAN Can Boost Capability In Combating Drug Crimes - DG

From Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri SEOUL, Oct 31 (Bernama) -- South Korea and ASEAN can reinforce their capability in fighting drug crimes through strong ties, sharing of information and conducting active joint investigations. Korean Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO), Violent Crimes Department director-general Park Min Pyo saw the need for such relations between South Korea and the ASEAN countries to remain strong to tackle the drug issues which pose a great threat to security. "We will place South Korea-ASEAN ties on a firm footing in combating drug crimes and do earnest efforts to build a 'Drug-Free World'," he told a group of journalists visiting the SPO Headquarters here on Thursday, in conjuction with 'The 2016 Exchange Visit of ASEAN and Korean Media People' programme. Twenty-nine journalists from ASEAN member states - Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar are taking part in the event organised by the Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry. The eight-day event which began on Sunday will expose the delegates to the progress in ASEAN and South Korea's current bilateral relations. Meanwhile, the SPO's Narcotics Division senior investigator Kim Jin-hak who presented on South Korea-ASEAN cooperation in security projects said initiatives to combat drug crimes between South Korea and ASEAN had been great for the past years. Among the initiatives were the Anti-Narcortics Cooperation Project in the 10 ASEAN countries since 2007 starting with Laos and even the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drug Crimes (APICC) in 2012. He said its latest initiative dubbed 'Strengthening of Border Liasion Office around the Mekong River' was launched this year aimed at strengthening cooperation between several countries' authorities to curb drug distribution which runs through the river. This is because the 4,350 km river which runs through China's Yunnan Province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, is believed to have been used by drug syndicates to distribute the drugs throughout the ASEAN region. According to the statistics provided by SPO, drug activities in South Korea saw an increasing trend from a total of 65kg of drugs seized in 2013, 72.6 kg (2014) and 82.8 kg in 2015. Kim said 60 per cent of the drugs found in South Korea are from China while 40 per cent are drugs from all over the world including the ASEAN countries. "Although the drugs from ASEAN countries entering Korea are less but in the spirit of 'neighbourhood' we should help each other," he said. -- BERNAMA