North Korea's informal economy relies heavily on foreign currency transactions involving the Chinese yuan or the U.S. dollar, but the country could be banning the exchanges, according to a Japanese press report on Tuesday. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI |
License Photo
Dec. 29 (UPI) -- North Korean authorities may have banned the use of foreign currency in informal markets, where ordinary North Koreans generate most of their income, according to a Japanese press report.
Citing South Korean government sources, the Asahi Shimbun reported Tuesday North Korea's ban on currencies like the U.S. dollar and the Chinese yuan apply to the more than 500 marketplaces. North Korean buyers and sellers mostly accept foreign currencies for transactions, according to the report.
The new regulation could be part of North Korean policy to rein in market forces that have made the state-planned enterprises less relevant to people's livelihoods.
North Korea's currency, the won, appreciated in 2020, the report said. The currency, which traded at 8,000 won to the dollar, may have appreciated to 6,000 won in October. The rise in the value of the North Korean won could be the direct result of the state ban on foreign currencies, according to the Asahi's sources.
The report also said there is evidence a major trader of foreign currency was "executed" upon orders. Pyongyang Medical University's alleged procurement of prohibited South Korean supplies earlier this year could have been the result of the crackdown on foreign exchange transactions.
Dong Yong-sueng, senior fellow at the Samsung Economic Research Institute in the South, told the Asahi North Korea's foreign currency ban appears to be "part of the structural reform that will come out of North Korea's five-year plan," which is expected to be made public in January, during Pyongyang's Eighth Party Congress.
North Korea launched an 80-day campaign in October to realize goals in every sector of the economy, including in science and technology.
Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Tuesday North Korean university students took part in computer programming contests hosted by CodeChef, based in India.
The North Korean students from Kim Il Sung University and other institutions won "several rounds" in the monthly programming competition, state media said.
