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SKor Lawmakers Give Details On NorK Counterfeiting Scam
 North Korea uses a printing press in Pyongyang to counterfeit U.S. dollars and then circulates them through a state-run trading firm, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday, referring to samples he said he got from the North.Another legislator said he had also obtained counterfeit U.S. $100 notes through North Korean trading company officials who he said were certain to be intelligence agents. North Korea has denied U.S. charges that it is involved in illicit financial activities, including counterfeiting, that Washington says helped fund the North's nuclear programs. Pyongyang has said the charges are part of U.S. smear campaign designed to topple the leadership in Pyongyang. The South Korean legislators were scheduled to disclose the samples and photographs at a parliamentary question session later on Thursday. The center of North Korea's counterfeiting of U.S. notes is a nondescript building in Pyongyang that also prints photographs of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, opposition Grand National Party parliamentarian Kim Jae-won said through an aide. "The information comes from a recent defector from the North who was a high-ranking official," the aide said by telephone. The aide declined to disclose the defector's identity for security reasons. Counterfeit U.S. notes are then circulated through a state trading company under the supervision of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea, the aide said. Kim Jae-won was not immediately available for comment. Another opposition parliamentarian, Kim Moon-soo, said he had also obtained 2003-issue $100 U.S. notes through human rights activists in the Chinese city of Dandong that borders the North. "I paid $70 to get each of these, but you can get them for as little as $50 in China," Kim told parliament. Kim Moon-soo said in parliament counterfeiting notes of the quality he acquired would be impossible without the involvement of the North Korean government. The U.S. embassy in Seoul said on Wednesday Washington had provided South Korea with evidence North Korea had been producing high-quality counterfeit U.S. notes. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said Seoul had yet to see conclusive evidence that points to North Korean government involvement. "I have not been told specifically about how and when," Lee told parliament on Wednesday, when asked about possible North Korean state involvement. Posted by: .com 2006-02-23 |
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