Report: North Korea May ban use of Somali currency !!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Report: North Korea bans use of foreign currency

Source: iht
The Associated PressPublished: January 25, 2007



SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea has banned the use of foreign currency in all domestic transactions in an apparent attempt to collect hard currency from individuals amid international economic sanctions over its nuclear test, a news report said Thursday.

The ban was announced Monday and took effect immediately, South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported, citing unidentified "reliable sources" familiar with North Korean affairs.

The measure was believed to be aimed at rounding up hard currency under individual possession as the cash-strapped communist regime suffered a further lack of foreign exchange following international economic sanctions over its nuclear test in October, the paper said.

Foreign money can be exchanged for North Korean currency at government-designated booths, it said.

However, the North has a black market for currency where the unofficial rate is many times higher than the government-set rate.

Pyongyang and other major cities.

South Korean officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

The U.S. has also sought to limit the North's access to the international financial system, blacklisting a Macau bank where the regime held accounts. Pyongyang has demanded the financial restrictions be lifted as a precondition to discussing its nuclear program at international arms talks.