New Focus On North Korean Counterfeit US $100 Bill Printing

Federal Reserve Charmian Ben Bernanke has competition in his money printing business. Also providing a Keynesian spending boost to the U.S. economy is Gen. O Kuk-ryol, aka, General O. He is the vice chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission and has emerged as a target of U.S. authorities.

Citing U.S. intelligence officials, the Washington Times said the general and several of his family members play key roles in the production and distribution of so-called "supernotes," which are high-quality counterfeit US$100 bills.

Counterfeit US currency coming out of North Korea has been a long term problem.

The first North Korean counterfeit supernote was found by a cashier in Manila in 1989, U.S. Secret Service officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, told WT. In 1994, North Korean trading company officials carrying diplomatic passports of North Korea were arrested after depositing $250,000 in supernotes in Banco Delta Asia in Macao, the officials added.

Evidence of North Korean trafficking in supernotes surfaced most recently in Pusan, South Korea, in November when police seized about $1 million in supernotes.

O is considered a military hardliner and is deeply involved in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's transfer of power to his son. The recent nuclear pyro-technic act was probably an O production. New focus on O's counterfeiting operation (which is minor compared to Ben Bernanke's money printing) may be a signal to O to knock off the nuclear stuff or his counterfeiting program will be nuked.