Posted: 2/3/2010 7:12:17 PM EDT
A new level of misery has creeped into North Koreans' lives after officials revalued the currency, wiping out life savings in an instant. By BARBARA DEMICK, Los Angeles Times Last update: February 3, 2010 - 9:27 PM North Korea: Leader of currency reform is fired A recent move by North Korean officials to rejigger the nation's economic system has introduced a new level of misery to everyday life. In the past month, the price of rice rose tenfold at private markets, and residents hoping to buy food often had to wait in line for hours in subzero temperatures. Humanitarian aid workers, meanwhile, have been unable to travel to large portions of the country because many hotels no longer accept foreign currency and the exchange rate bounces around wildly. At the heart of the turmoil is a series of dictates imposed late last year by Kim Jong Il's regime –– revaluing the North Korean currency, closing down privately run markets in favor of state-owned shops and banning the use of foreign currency and the sale of many imports from China. 'People panicked' On Nov. 30, North Korea announced it would knock two zeros off its currency, the won, which was then trading on the black market at about 3,500 to the U.S. dollar. People had just one week to trade in their money for new notes, and they were given a limit: Each family could exchange 100,000 old won for 1,000 new won, the equivalent of less than $30. Any cash in excess of the limit would become invalid –– meaning life savings were being wiped out with the stroke of a pen. "People panicked. They had all their savings in cash because nobody trusts the banks. Many committed suicide," said Song Jung-su, who defected from North Korea in 2006 but is still in touch with relatives. Given North Korea's absolute grip on political opinion, organized protest was impossible. Instead, many expressed their anger by discarding it. |
