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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| NKor using own counterfeit US $100 bills as "$70" bills in domestic trade |
| 2006-08-04 |
| Strategy Page article--no permalink. Edited for brevity. Counterfeit American hundred dollar bills have become, in practice, legal tender in North Korea. Everyone knows they're fake, but they are such good fakes that merchants call them "$70 bills," and often use them at full face value. North Korea has, for nearly two decades, financed it's defense establishment via illegal activities. These included producing and exporting illegal drugs and counterfeit U.S. currency. Of particular concern to the United States, the fake hundred dollar bills were of such high quality that, in some respects, they were superior to the real thing. North Korea has access to the special materials and printing equipment for producing currency. Much of this stuff is only sold to governments. However, since North Korea is a government, they get the quality materials and gear needed to make what American Treasury officials call "supernotes." These counterfeits can be detected, but with difficulty. As a result, thousands, if not millions, of them are in circulation, largely outside of the United States. |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #6 Damn, #3 DV! Do you know how hard it is to get lemonade off a monitor? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-08-04 18:43 |
| #5 :-) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-08-04 17:58 |
| #4 Squeal like a ... |
| Posted by: ed 2006-08-04 17:58 |
| #3 ...he caressed my back fat.... ew.... ow.... need.... brain ..... bleach.... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-08-04 17:45 |
| #2 Gee, I can't imagine why we don't get along with these 'patriots'. They're even helping us reduce the printing costs of our $100 bills. Sounds like the basis for bilateral talks to me. Do you like my brooch? It's a gold replica of Ned Beatty from "Deliverance" it's meant to signify strength in my negotiations with Kim Jong Il. He loved it the last time we met. We danced and drank champagne....he caressed my back fat.... |
| Posted by: Madeleine Albright 2006-08-04 17:42 |
| #1 So produce a new hundred and tell everybody the old ones are no longer valid. Complaints? See Kimmie. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-08-04 17:41 |