A scene of everyday life in the north of North Korea, which is experiencing an “epidemic” of methamphetamine use. Photos: Michal Koza / Red Door News Hong Kong; Corbis; AFP Photo / KCNA via KNS

In the impoverished north of North Korea, crystal meth is administered as medicine.

Crystal meth.

A scene from television series Breaking Bad shows a home meth lab.

A North Korean guard on patrol on the border with China, over which the raw ingredients for crystal meth and the finished product are smuggled.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is greeted by school children during an inspection tour in the west of the country. The regime’s lenient stance towards drug dealers is considered a factor in the spread of crystal meth use.

Girls perform at a nursery school in Sinuiju, in North Korea’s northeast. Crystal meth has been given to children in the area by unwitting parents.