Archinect - News 2024-05-03T03:24:12-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149962970/what-could-go-wrong-north-korean-construction-workers-are-being-given-crystal-meth-to-finish-projects-faster What could go wrong? North Korean construction workers are being given crystal meth to finish projects faster Amelia Taylor-Hochberg 2016-08-12T14:13:00-04:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/2w/2wj43jt7d04kecir.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>project managers at a building site in North Korea&rsquo;s capital Pyongyang are openly supplying their exhausted work force with powerful methamphetamines called &ldquo;ice,&rdquo; North Korean sources say. [...] Officials in charge of the project are pushing workers hard to finish frame construction on the buildings, which include a 70-story high-rise apartment building and at least 60 other structures, before the weather gets too cold, sources said.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The construction project in question appears to be <a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149954910/another-speedy-pyonghattan-skyscraper-project-is-underway" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ryomyong Street, a so-called "Pyonghattan"</a> for its giant scope and reportedly the country's tallest apartments. According to a report in&nbsp;<a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2013/11/21/inside-north-koreas-crystal-meth-trade/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Foreign Policy</em></a>, the spread of methamphetamine (aka "ice") first began in North Korea during the 1990s, when it was being produced and sold as a medication.</p><p>You might also be interested in:</p><ul><li><a title="Another speedy &ldquo;Pyonghattan&rdquo; skyscraper project is underway" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/149954910/another-speedy-pyonghattan-skyscraper-project-is-underway" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Another speedy &ldquo;Pyonghattan&rdquo; skyscraper project is underway</a></li><li><a title="&lsquo;Pyongyang Speed:&rsquo; North Korea miraculously cranks out massive residential development for scientists in only one year" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/143668960/pyongyang-speed-north-korea-miraculously-cranks-out-massive-residential-development-for-scientists-in-only-one-year" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">&lsquo;Pyongyang Speed:&rsquo; North Korea miraculously cranks out massive residential development for scientists in only one year</a></li><li><a title="Pyongyang's inner Wes Anderson shines through in its architecture, then and now" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/140342648/pyongyang-s-inner-wes-anderson-shines-through-in-its-architecture-then-and-now" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pyongyang's inner Wes Anderson shines through in its architecture, then and now</a></li><li><a title="Pyonghattan &amp; water parks: North Korea's new architectural ambitions" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/136651392/pyonghattan-water-parks-north-korea-s-new-architectural-ambitions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pyonghattan &amp; water parks: North Korea's new architectural ambitions</a></li></ul>