[USFK Forums] NK Produces Fake US Bills in Pyongyang: Lawmaker [Korea Times]

[C. Y. Lee]

Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Friday, February 24, 2006

NK Produces Fake US Bills in Pyongyang: Lawmaker

Thursday, February 23, 2006
By Lee Jin-woo, Staff Reporter

Lawmakers of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Thursday urged the government to take steps to prevent the increasing circulation of fake U.S. bills allegedly counterfeited by North Korea.

[PHOTO - UNLOADABLE] At left are what Rep. Kim Jae-won of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) claims are fake U.S. $100 bills produced in Pyongyang, North Korea. At right, Kim Moonsoo, another GNP lawmaker, questions Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on the government's stance on the issue of alleged North Korean counterfeiting at the National Assembly, Thursday. Kim is holding what he claims is a U.S. $100 note faked by North Korea./Yonhap-Korea Times

On the second day of a five-day interpellation at the National Assembly, Rep. Kim Jae-won of the conservative GNP claimed that North Korea has produced counterfeit American banknotes at a factory located in Pyongyang, showing photos taken by satellites.

The lawmaker also said the fake U.S. bills have been distributed by the North's state-run international trading company called Kwangmyungsung to several foreign countries.

During the session, Kim Moon-soo, also of the GNP, compared a counterfeit $100 U.S. greenback, which he said one of his aides obtained at $70 at the border between China and North Korea, with an original one.

According to Kim, a total of 1,900 cases of fake U.S. dollars, which were suspected to have been produced by the North, were found in Korea before last September, an increased from 667 cases in 2004. Kim added only 189 counterfeit U.S. bills were discovered in 2001.

In another development, the GNP also urged President Roh Moo-hyun to officially apologize about the controversial leakage of a classified diplomatic document.

The party's spokesperson Lee Ke-jin said in a press briefing, ``President Roh should acknowledge the seriousness of the incident and apologize to the public immediately.''

``It's clear that the regrettable case was caused by the internal conflict between two different factions, anti-American and pro-American groups, at the presidential office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,'' Lee said.

Lee added Roh and Chong Wa Dae officials were practically ridiculed by a working-level protocol secretary dispatched from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who leaked the contents of the controversial classified document to a governing party legislator.

The ministry official, identified by his family name as Lee, allegedly met Rep. Choi Jae-cheon of the governing Uri Party at a hotel last year, revealing secret information concerning the agreement on the ``strategic flexibility'' of the U.S. Forces Korea.

Lee also raised suspicion whether the documents were handed over to other ruling and opposition party legislators as Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) again released a classified document allegedly produced by the presidential office on the agreement on Wednesday.

Rep. Roh argued the agreement was not just aimed at allowing a more flexible troop deployment of the U.S. military stationed in Korea, but included more sensitive issues including the Missile Defense system and nuclear weapons system on the Korean Peninsula.

During Thursday's session, Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan made an apology over the leakage of the classified NSC documents.

``It's deeply regrettable that the classified documents were released to the public in an unreasonable way,'' Lee said. ``I'd like to define it as a senseless act committed by an injudicious civil servant.''

The premier, however, dismissed claims that there are disputes between different factions within the government over the alliance between South Korea and the United States.

``The nation's diplomatic relationship with the United States is quite stable as the NSC has played its role as a mediator successfully,'' he said. ``Depending on subjects, diplomatic approaches could vary (between the two nations), but we try our best to make decisions in the national interest.''

Meanwhile, Kim Hyeong-joo of the governing party reminded recent news reports that toxic contaminants beyond the safe limit have been detected underground in large quantities at 14 out of 15 U.S. bases that are scheduled to be returned to South Korean ownership.

Seoul and Washington have been locked in tough negotiations over the contamination on U.S. bases as the U.S. military's Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with South Korea, revised in 2001, fails to clarify which country should take responsibility for cleaning up contaminated bases.


things@koreatimes.co.kr

02-23-2006 19:03

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