That was my reaction too – North Korea has a history here – but that doesn’t seem to mesh with the article text.

But sometimes the diplomats and company officials know the money they are sending to Pyongyang is not legitimate, Ryu Hyun-woo, who was once acting ambassador to Kuwait, told RFA. 

“People can buy a counterfeit $100 bill for $20,” he said. “When I was short like $200, I would put in fake bills.”

He said that internal counterfeiting was discovered internally in 2015 and 2016, when sanctions against North Korea were getting more stringent. 

Though North Korea may have been the origin of high-quality fakes of the $100 bill, Ryu thinks that that’s not the case today. 

“It is questionable whether North Korea can currently secure the appropriate materials to produce counterfeit money,” he said.