North Koreans have often used U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan for everyday purchases. Kim Jong Un's government tolerated it to ease inflation and ensure stablilty, but observers say that's changing as Kim tries to reassert economic control.
By HYUNG-JIN KIMPaek H.O, who defected from the northeastern North Korean town of Musan in 2018, speaks in front of U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan notes during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on May 3, 2023. North Korea has tolerated the widespread use of more stable foreign currencies like U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan since a bungled revaluation of the won in 2009 triggered runaway inflation and public unrest.
SEOUL, South Korea — Before fleeing North Korea in 2014, Jeon Jae-hyun kept U.S. dollars as a store of value and used Chinese yuan to make everyday purchases at markets, restaurants and other places. He used the domestic currency, the won, only occasionally. “There were not many places to use the won, and we actually had little faith in our currency,” Jeon said during a recent interview in Seoul. “Even the quality of North Korean bills was awful as they often ripped when we put them in our pockets.”
North Korea has tolerated the widespread use of more stable foreign currencies like U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan since a bungled revaluation of the won in 2009 triggered runaway inflation and public unrest. The so-called “dollarization” helped ease inflation and stabilize exchange rates, enabling leader Kim Jong Un to establish a stable hold on power after he inherited that role in late 2011. But the trend poses a potential threat to Kim as it has undermined his government’s control over money supply and monetary policies.
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