South Korea seeks to host Interpol drug response centre

South Korea plans to seek the establishment of an Interpol drug response centre as part of efforts to strengthen the fight against transnational narcotics crime, the government’s policy coordination office said on June 24.

Seoul aims to launch the centre around the time it hosts Interpol’s general assembly in 2029, according to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Yonhap reports.

“The need is being raised for an international control tower in order to strategically block the ‘golden triangle’ region that produces 70 per cent of drugs worldwide,” the office said in a statement issued after a meeting of the anti-drug measures committee chaired by Government Policy Coordination Minister Yoon Chang-yul.

The “golden triangle” refers to the area where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, long known as a major centre of drug production and trafficking.

South Korea’s National Police Agency plans to seek a letter of intent with Interpol at the organisation’s general assembly in December.

By Sabina Mammadli