Uploaded by C. Y. Lee on Thursday, February 9, 2006
Fake notes fewer than presumed
February 09, 2006 ㅡ A diplomatic source in Seoul said yesterday that Washington estimates the amount of North Korean-produced counterfeit U.S. currency in circulation at about $50-60 million. He said, evidently taking it for granted that the fake banknotes were produced in North Korea, that the sophistication of the so-called “supernotes” is enough in itself to conclude that the counterfeiting is supported by the North Korean government.
That estimate of the nominal value of the counterfeit notes, this source said, was less than Washington once believed, and U.S. officials think it should be easy for Pyongyang to close down its presses.
“This counterfeit currency has included changes of flaws that existed in the real money,” the source continued. “That is how the United States could identify them.”
Separately, a senior government official in Seoul confirmed yesterday scattered news reports that during Kim Jong-il’s recent visit to China, one of his senior aides was detained in Macao in connection with an investigation into currency counterfeiting. The detention was a signal, the official concluded.
“With the arrest and the direct explanation by China to the North about what it thinks of the matter, the North seems to have realized how serious the problem is,” he said.
An intelligence official here said that North Korea has been faced with a shortage of foreign exchange after U.S. financial sanctions were imposed on some of its trading companies and one bank the government uses in Macao, and has stepped up activities to bring in more foreign currency.
In Washington, Lee Tae-sik, the South Korean ambassador to Washington, warned on Tuesday that the North had to “wash its hands” of the counterfeiting issue and that Seoul had conveyed a “firm position” on the matter to Pyongyang. Officially, Seoul contends that the U.S. case against the North is not yet proven.
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02-09-2006, 09:49 AM
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