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> There were a handful of shops that catered for foreigners. All transactions had to be in Euros as possession of local currency by foreigners was forbidden Th

> There were a handful of shops that catered for foreigners. All transactions had to be in Euros as possession of local currency by foreigners was forbidden This stood out to me in the article, as most countries incentivize foreign visitors to use local currencies to boost its strength. However, NK seems to have long ago come to terms it's currency will never hold value, so perhaps they instill this rule to boost their counterfeit money operations, or reserves of foreign currency.

teractiveodular 2y ago
It's all about getting their hands on foreign currency. Similar systems were ubiquitous across Eastern Europe, with the DDR's Intershop probably the best known: you could even take the subway across to Friedrichstraße in East Berlin and shop at the platform without needing to go through passport control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intershop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intershop
edm0nd 2y ago
Which is one of the main reasons why NKs nation state hackers go after crypto currency via hacks. It's the main way they can bypass a lot of financial sanctions against them and use that $$$ for their nuclear programs and other things. They have stolen $3B+ over the past several years alone. https://therecord.media/north-korea-cryptocurrency-hacks-un-experts https://therecord.media/north-korea-cryptocurrency-hacks-un-...
SuperNinKenDo 2y ago
Another aspect of it could be that this retards foreigners' capacity to sneak into shops they're not supposed to be in and buy things they're not supposed to buy. Not sure though, as apparently many shops are run pseudo-privately and I imagine any shopkeeper would be happy to accept some foreign currency.
- laverya 2y ago
  Unless, of course, it's illegal for normal citizens to own foreign currency. If foreigners can only own foreign currency, and normal citizens can only own local currency, then it makes it a lot harder to bribe the locals!
  - SuperNinKenDo 2y ago
    I think owning foreign currency in NK is probably grey-market normalised at this point. However I imagine it's predominantly RMB and USD. The requirement that everything be done by foreigners in Euros is probably serving the purpose you state though. I suspect authorities might look the other way at foreign currency in general, or specific currencies like those I specified, but Euros might be taken as evidence of unauthorised contact with foreigners since there's no other good reason to take them.
  - hakfoo 2y ago
    Interesting fact: the DPRK used to issue three parallel sets of coins and banknotes. One was for locals, one for visitors from other Socialist states, and one for visitors from Western states. The three-tier model was a little but unusual, but the idea of a secondary currency for foreigners was not that uncommon. One other reason for it is to ensure "minimum spend" -- some countries required you to buy a certain amount of the foreigner currency at the official exchange rate as part of the entry process, even though the black-market rate for "local" currency was far more competitive.
deleted 2y ago
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sagasu007 2y ago
Why Euro? And not USD? LOL
cardanome 2y ago
It is to get their hands on foreign currency. Plus, many products in the shops for local are probably heavily subsidized and have vastly lower prices.
iJohnDoe 2y ago
Or simply they have very little local physical currency and it was printed decades ago and it might pose as an embarrassment, so they don’t want it seen by foreigners.
- hakfoo 2y ago
  The DPRK introduced new banknotes in the late 2000s. They're reasonably modern and colourful. They don't look as technically sophisticated as some countries' notes with foil strips and polymer stock, but they don't look wildly out of date. You used to be able to get a set off eBay for like $25, and sometimes uncut sheets of the older series, but I haven't looked in years. Fun fact: it's probably easier to collect a reasonable type set of North Korean notes than South Korean. The Southern collection has a lot of hard roadblock notes-- a lot of notes that were replaced by the end of the 1960s and 1970s, so quality examples are expensive and rare, and one famous type from 1962 that circulated for less than a month before being flash withdrawn.

teractiveodular 2y ago

It's all about getting their hands on foreign currency. Similar systems were ubiquitous across Eastern Europe, with the DDR's Intershop probably the best known: you could even take the subway across to Friedrichstraße in East Berlin and shop at the platform without needing to go through passport control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intershop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intershop

edm0nd 2y ago

Which is one of the main reasons why NKs nation state hackers go after crypto currency via hacks. It's the main way they can bypass a lot of financial sanctions against them and use that $$$ for their nuclear programs and other things. They have stolen $3B+ over the past several years alone. https://therecord.media/north-korea-cryptocurrency-hacks-un-experts https://therecord.media/north-korea-cryptocurrency-hacks-un-...

SuperNinKenDo 2y ago

Another aspect of it could be that this retards foreigners' capacity to sneak into shops they're not supposed to be in and buy things they're not supposed to buy. Not sure though, as apparently many shops are run pseudo-privately and I imagine any shopkeeper would be happy to accept some foreign currency.

laverya 2y ago
Unless, of course, it's illegal for normal citizens to own foreign currency. If foreigners can only own foreign currency, and normal citizens can only own local currency, then it makes it a lot harder to bribe the locals!
- SuperNinKenDo 2y ago
  I think owning foreign currency in NK is probably grey-market normalised at this point. However I imagine it's predominantly RMB and USD. The requirement that everything be done by foreigners in Euros is probably serving the purpose you state though. I suspect authorities might look the other way at foreign currency in general, or specific currencies like those I specified, but Euros might be taken as evidence of unauthorised contact with foreigners since there's no other good reason to take them.
- hakfoo 2y ago
  Interesting fact: the DPRK used to issue three parallel sets of coins and banknotes. One was for locals, one for visitors from other Socialist states, and one for visitors from Western states. The three-tier model was a little but unusual, but the idea of a secondary currency for foreigners was not that uncommon. One other reason for it is to ensure "minimum spend" -- some countries required you to buy a certain amount of the foreigner currency at the official exchange rate as part of the entry process, even though the black-market rate for "local" currency was far more competitive.

deleted 2y ago

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sagasu007 2y ago

Why Euro? And not USD? LOL

cardanome 2y ago

It is to get their hands on foreign currency. Plus, many products in the shops for local are probably heavily subsidized and have vastly lower prices.

iJohnDoe 2y ago

Or simply they have very little local physical currency and it was printed decades ago and it might pose as an embarrassment, so they don’t want it seen by foreigners.

hakfoo 2y ago
The DPRK introduced new banknotes in the late 2000s. They're reasonably modern and colourful. They don't look as technically sophisticated as some countries' notes with foil strips and polymer stock, but they don't look wildly out of date. You used to be able to get a set off eBay for like $25, and sometimes uncut sheets of the older series, but I haven't looked in years. Fun fact: it's probably easier to collect a reasonable type set of North Korean notes than South Korean. The Southern collection has a lot of hard roadblock notes-- a lot of notes that were replaced by the end of the 1960s and 1970s, so quality examples are expensive and rare, and one famous type from 1962 that circulated for less than a month before being flash withdrawn.