Korea Policy Institute
www.kpolicy.org
North Korea and the Supernote Enigma
by Gregory Elich
North Korea, it is often said, is a criminal state. One of the more
persistent stories sup****ting that allegation is that the North Koreans
are
counterfeiting U.S. currency. Through repetition, the claim has taken on
an
aura of proven fact. This in turn has been cited as justification for
everything from imposing punitive measures against North Korea to
suggesting
that the nation cannot be trusted as a partner in nuclear negotiations.
The evidence against North Korea is widely regarded as convincing. "The
North Koreans have denied that they are engaged in the distribution and
manufacture of counterfeits," says Daniel Glaser of the U.S. Treasury
Department, "but the evidence is overwhelming that they are. There's no
question of North Korea's involvement." There is no denying that North
Korean citizens have been caught passing counterfeit currency in Europe
and
Asia, and some defectors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK — the formal name for North Korea) claim to have first-hand
knowledge
of state-run counterfeiting operations. In Western media re****ts the case
is
treated as proven. Yet the closer one examines the matter, the murkier the
picture becomes.
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