Economy of North Korea
Estimating gross national product in North Korea is a difficult task because of a dearth of economic data and the problem of choosing an appropriate rate of exchange for the North Korean won, the nonconvertible North Korean currency. The South Korean government's estimate placed North Korea's GNP in 1991 at US$22.9 billion, or US$1,038 per capita. In contrast, South Korea posted US$237.9 billion of GNP and a per capita income of US$5,569 in 1991. North Korea's GNP in 1991 showed a 5.2% decline from 1989, and preliminary indications were that the decline would continue. South Korea's GNP, by contrast, expanded by 9.3% and 8.4%, respectively, in 1990 and 1991.
North Korean won
Pictures of the new notes were published on December 4, 2009, in the "Chosun Shinbo", a North Korean newspaper based in Japan. The paper claimed that the measure would weaken the free market and strengthen the country's socialist system. However, the won plummeted 96 percent against the U.S. dollar in the ensuing days after revaluation. Authorities eventually raised the limit to 500,000 won, Chosun said, and promised no probe into savings of up to one million won and unlimited withdrawals if savings of more than one million are properly explained.