U.S. Says Counterfeit Bills Came from North Korea

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow said today that counterfeit $100 bills found in South Korea came from North Korea, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 28).

South Korean authorities earlier this year said that the “supernotes” were being used in the country. At the time they did not say where the bills originated.

“We are quite convinced that the origin of these supernotes can be traced to North Korea,” Vershbow said.

The issue of counterfeit money has been a point of contention between the United States and North Korea, stalling six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Pyongyang has called allegations that it is producing fake cash a “sheer lie.”

Vershbow, while saying the United States would take measures to “protect ourselves,” said the counterfeit issue was not related to the nuclear standoff.

“This does not in any way reduce our determination to resolve the nuclear issue through the six-party talks,” he said (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press/Malaysia Star, Dec. 23).

Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe ordered the Japanese Financial Services Agency to increase anticounterfeit efforts, the Associated Press reported.

Abe’s instructions come as Japanese and North Korean officials prepare to meet this weekend in Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s nuclear program and other issues.