Meth offered casually as tea to guests in North Korea

Methamphetamine is reportedly becoming a favourite drug among North Koreans.

The drug is casually served to treat colds, boost energy levels and to treat guests.

The narcotic, known as orum, or 'ice', in North Korea is a rare commodity both made and sold in the politically isolated nation by the government.

The revelation was made by Barbara Demick, author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, while writing in the Los Angeles Times.

According to news.com.au, Demick said despite the production and trafficking moving on to the hands of smaller-scale entrepreneurs, the government remains easygoing about the use of the drug.

In fact, North Koreans offer meth as casually as a cup of tea.

Lee Saera, who lives in the North Korean city of Hoeryong, near the Chinese border, said that the drug was like drinking coffee when you're sleepy.

There is so little stigma attached to meth that it is commonly used to treat illnesses or by students who want to stay up late to study.

It also helps curb appetites in a country where food is scarce.

Cooking meth has also become a popular business in North Korea largely because the lucrative drug can be simply made at home.

Demick cited court records revealing that in one recent case, undercover US agents obtained North Korean meth samples that tested as being 99 percent pure, the report added.