North Korean Counterfeiting of U.S. Currency

The United States has accused the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea DPRK or North Korea of counterfeiting U.S. 100 Federal Reserve notes supernotes and passing them off in various countries. This is one of several illicit activities by North Korea apparently done to generate foreign exchange that is used to purchase imports or finance government activities abroad. Although Pyongyang denies complicity in any counterfeiting operation, at least 45 million in such supernotes of North Korean origin have been detected in circulation, and estimates are that the country has earned from 15 to 25 million per year from counterfeiting. The illegal nature of any counterfeiting activity makes open-source information on the scope and scale of DPRK counterfeiting and distribution operations incomplete. South Korean intelligence has corroborated information on North Korean production of forged currency prior to 1998, and certain individuals have been indicted in U.S. courts for distributing such forged currency. Media reports in January 2006 state that Chinese investigators have independently confirmed allegations of DPRK counterfeiting. U.S. policy toward the alleged counterfeiting is split between law enforcement efforts and political and diplomatic pressures. On the law enforcement side, individuals have been indicted and the Banco Delta Asia bank in Macao a territory of China has been named as a primary money laundering concern under the Patriot Act. This started a financial chain reaction under which banks, not only from the United States but from other nations, have declined to deal with even some legitimate North Korea traders. North Koreans appear to be moving their international bank accounts to Chinese and other banks. In December 2006, North Korea agreed to return to the Six-Party Talks on its nuclear weapons program, but during the talks Pyongyang refused to discuss denuclearization officially until the Banco Delta financial sanctions were lifted.