North Korea Cited On Counterfeiting Indictment

Ever wonder why the US $20 bill keeps changing? It is because of the quality of counterfeit bills coming out of North Korea commonly referred to as “Super Notes”. North Korea relies on counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and illegal bootlegging to bring in hard currency for the North Korean elites. A lot of this activity is done through North Korean diplomatic missions. Yes that is right North Korean diplomats are regularly involved in criminal activity. Now the US government is trying to crack down on this illegal activity and they are starting in Ireland of all places:

North Korea’s continued involvement in counterfeiting is not helping its relations with the U.S., the State Department said Wednesday (local time). Spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters his government was seeking the extradition of Northern Ireland’s Worker’s Party chief Sean Garland, who has been indicted on suspicion of circulating counterfeit U.S. banknotes of North Korean origin. The way US-North Korea relations will progress is highly contingent on North Korea’s implication in illegal activities, the human rights situation and its nuclear weapons programs, Ereli said.

The daily quoted U.S. officials as saying the inclusion of North Korea in Garland’s indictment was the first time Washington has officially charged North Korea with an illicit activity in court, which suggested a stepping-up of U.S. attempts to crack down on activities like counterfeiting, bootlegging cigarettes and drug trafficking across the globe it accuses Pyongyang of.

This indictment is just a drop in the bucket but at least it is a start.