By Yi Whan-woo
North Korea is suspected of working with international criminal organizations and terrorist groups to circulate counterfeit American and Chinese currencies, North Korean defectors and analysts in Seoul said Monday.
They also said the cash-strapped regime may try to expand trafficking networks in drugs, weapons, cigarettes, and counterfeit luxury goods as alternative means to generate hard currency following a series of sanctions against it.
"It will be difficult for North Korea to circulate all its super notes on its own without being undetected after printing them on a large scale," said An Chan-il, a defector who is a researcher in charge of the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.
"Its banks may use fake $100s and $50s in domestic transactions with individual customers. But it certainly would need connections with Chinese criminal organizations and Russian mafia to supply the counterfeit dollars en masse abroad."
Park Sang-hak, a defector activist, made a similar claim.
"Japanese yakuza and terrorist groups in the Middle East, such as the Islamic State may be among those who are circulating North Korea's fake money," he said.
Park ran a publications agency under the United Front Department, which handles inter-Korean issues, responsible for the fake currencies.
He said high-quality printing machines at the agency are used for the counterfeits in addition to manufacturing anti-Seoul leaflets.
"For instance, brokers would pay $500,000 for a volume of banknotes supposedly worth $1 million," he said.
It is speculated North Korea has been producing more fake dollars and Chinese yuan bills as an alternative means to fund its nuclear weapons program following the U.N. Security Council's latest resolution against Pyongyang on March 2.
The U.S., South Korea, Japan and other U.N. member states also took individual sanctions that are aimed at cutting off flow of hard currency into the Kim Jong-un regime.
"The international community is blocking all sources of major income for North Korea, such as its state-run restaurants in foreign countries, and it appears to be capitalizing on the counterfeit currencies to find its way out," An said.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, claimed that production of the forged U.S. banknotes is seen as a reaction to the U.S Department of Treasury's designation of Pyongyang as a "primary money laundering concern" on June 1.
"It knows too well that the U.S. is extremely sensitive about its counterfeit dollars. The only reason it will take a risk and forge more U.S. currency would be to show that it is willing to fight against Washington," he said.
The experts were divided over who is in charge of forgery.
An pointed his finger to Room 39, a security agency that reports directly to Kim Jong-un about funding for the nuclear program.
Experts warned that the secretive nation may expand to different forms of trafficking to avoid a cash deficit.
"The crime rings have been working with North Korea in various businesses, and we should be open to the possibilitiy that Pyongyang will sell more internationally-banned products," Kang said. "I brought Marlboro cigarettes with me when I defected to Seoul and they were made in North Korea."
North Korea is suspected of working with international criminal organizations and terrorist groups to circulate counterfeit American and Chinese currencies, North Korean defectors and analysts in Seoul said Monday.
They also said the cash-strapped regime may try to expand trafficking networks in drugs, weapons, cigarettes, and counterfeit luxury goods as alternative means to generate hard currency following a series of sanctions against it.
"It will be difficult for North Korea to circulate all its super notes on its own without being undetected after printing them on a large scale," said An Chan-il, a defector who is a researcher in charge of the World Institute for North Korea Studies in Seoul.
"Its banks may use fake $100s and $50s in domestic transactions with individual customers. But it certainly would need connections with Chinese criminal organizations and Russian mafia to supply the counterfeit dollars en masse abroad."
Park Sang-hak, a defector activist, made a similar claim.
"Japanese yakuza and terrorist groups in the Middle East, such as the Islamic State may be among those who are circulating North Korea's fake money," he said.
Park ran a publications agency under the United Front Department, which handles inter-Korean issues, responsible for the fake currencies.
He said high-quality printing machines at the agency are used for the counterfeits in addition to manufacturing anti-Seoul leaflets.
Kang Myung-do, a defector who is now a professor at Kyungmin University, claimed brokers associated with organized crime syndicates in Hong Kong and Macau have been buying the counterfeit bills at half the price of their "face value."
.jpg/dims/resize/112/optimize)
"For instance, brokers would pay $500,000 for a volume of banknotes supposedly worth $1 million," he said.
It is speculated North Korea has been producing more fake dollars and Chinese yuan bills as an alternative means to fund its nuclear weapons program following the U.N. Security Council's latest resolution against Pyongyang on March 2.
The U.S., South Korea, Japan and other U.N. member states also took individual sanctions that are aimed at cutting off flow of hard currency into the Kim Jong-un regime.
"The international community is blocking all sources of major income for North Korea, such as its state-run restaurants in foreign countries, and it appears to be capitalizing on the counterfeit currencies to find its way out," An said.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, claimed that production of the forged U.S. banknotes is seen as a reaction to the U.S Department of Treasury's designation of Pyongyang as a "primary money laundering concern" on June 1.
"It knows too well that the U.S. is extremely sensitive about its counterfeit dollars. The only reason it will take a risk and forge more U.S. currency would be to show that it is willing to fight against Washington," he said.
The experts were divided over who is in charge of forgery.
An pointed his finger to Room 39, a security agency that reports directly to Kim Jong-un about funding for the nuclear program.
Experts warned that the secretive nation may expand to different forms of trafficking to avoid a cash deficit.
"The crime rings have been working with North Korea in various businesses, and we should be open to the possibilitiy that Pyongyang will sell more internationally-banned products," Kang said. "I brought Marlboro cigarettes with me when I defected to Seoul and they were made in North Korea."
![[INTERVIEW] Retired FSC chief finds inspiration exploring Koreans' ancestral roots](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/6642af4d9fed4cae8a8a951eedbbaa6f.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] 'The Flag': Kwon Jin-ah's love letter to people chasing their dreams](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/286500d853334c96ab51e56d74fe38f2.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
