Is Alcohol legal in North Korea?
Also known as: booze
- Legal status
- Legal, alcohol (ethanol) is a legal, state-produced beverage (soju, Taedonggang beer), not a controlled drug.
- Consequences if caught
- No penalty for consumption; production and distribution are state-run.
- If prescribed or medical
- n/a, a beverage, not a medicine.
- Documentation
- Available through state shops, restaurants and hotels; domestically produced and consumed.
- who.int
- The Criminal Code of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in its 2013 revision and later amendments, is the governing instrument recorded in the sibling cells of this table, and naming later amendments in that form is not a statement of which version was read. No version was recorded when this cell was authored on 14 July 2026, and that does not rule out a later amendment made or commenced since.
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Court records
We have not yet assessed whether court records are publicly available for this jurisdiction.
Other substances confirmed in North Korea
Same substance, other countries
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with North Korea’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately, not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →