North Korean Agent Arrested For Trafficking $5 Million In US Currency

This could be taken as a sign that the sanctions are working at strangling the Kim regime if they are resorting to counterfeiting US dollars that are not as of high quality as the ones seen in the past:

Image via the Asia Sentinel.

Following initial reports last week that a North Korean agent was arrested in the border city of Dandong in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, multiple sources confirmed Wednesday that the official had been involved in distributing counterfeit U.S. dollars.

After years of circulating counterfeit $100 banknotes, North Korea’s so-called supernotes seemed to have disappeared in recent years. Pyongyang’s forged $100 bills, considered nearly flawless, were a major source of slush funds for the regime and date back to the 1970s. But a major crackdown by U.S. authorities and new security features on banknotes led to a decline in the trade.

The recent arrest indicates their possible resurgence.

One source familiar with Beijing-Pyongyang relations told the JoongAng Ilbo that the agent captured by Chinese officials earlier this month brought $5 million in cash into China from North Korea in order to make payments for household goods and home appliances.
These goods were supposedly distributed to the North Korean people during the April 15 celebration of the birthday of the country’s late founder, Kim Il Sung, as well as during its ruling Workers’ Party’s seventh congress held in early May, the first of its kind in nearly four decades.

Because of international sanctions on North Korea, including those in UN Security Council Resolution 2270 passed in March, Pyongyang is being blocked from financial transactions giving it access to U.S. cash.

“The $5 million was exchanged at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China for some 30 million yuan [$4.6 million] and then deposited,” the source said.

“But a number of the notes were found to be counterfeit $100 bills when they were run through the banknote counter by a bank employee, so Chinese authorities ordered the relevant account be frozen and arrested the North Korean agent.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but this does make me wonder if North Korea is the only country that traffics in state sponsored counterfeiting?