North Korea’s new war plan? Fears Kim flooding South with fake ‘supernotes’

The rogue state, led by Kim Jong-un, is reportedly pumping out supernotes that look so authentic they have prompted concern among officials.

South Korea’s KEB Hana bank had to bring in high-level forgery experts just to determine whether a single $100 note was indeed a fake – as it was so hard to tell.

It is now feared that thousands of these fake $100 bills are in circulation in the South and possibly worldwide.

According to the US government, there are at least $250 million worth of fake $100 bills in circulation internationally.

The new forgeries, thought to have been made by North Korea, are dated 2006. But previous notes had been dated 2001 or 2003.

But experts suggest the latest round of forgeries are far superior to the older notes.

Lee Ho-jung, a bank spokesman told The Hankyoreh newspaper: “They are made with special ink that changes colour depending on the angle, patterned paper and Intaglio printing that gives texture to the surface of a note.

“It seems that whoever printed these supernotes has the facilities and high level of technology matching that of a government.”

The experts believe the fake notes originate from North Korea as the rogue state is drowning under a series of UN sanctions and economic decline.

A source told The Hankyoreh newspaper: “To print supernote-level forgeries, you need a minting corporation-level production line in place, which costs hundreds of billions of won.

“This makes it difficult for ordinary criminal organisations to produce them”.

North Korea also has a history of forging foreign bank notes to get currency for the hermit state.

Pyongyang is under increased pressure after it faced international condemnation for developing and testing high-powered missiles that threatened its neighbour South Korea and the USA.

In response over the past year, the UN Security council adopted three rounds of sanctions aimed at choking off revenue to Pyongyang’s military programs after Kim’s regime carried out a sixth nuclear test and a series of advanced missile launches.

An estimated 18 million North Koreans, or 70 percent of the population now suffer from acute food shortages. At least 13 million people have to rely on aid agencies to eat.