The 'Great' Nuclear State

North Korea's nuclear test proves Mr. Kim is listening to his generals; they control the last power lever in his dilapidated police-state. Stopping the flow of illegal currency would break the government's back. The media commonly glosses over the North's year-long diplomatic boycott as a protest against US financial restriction, but for decades they have been the world's finest producer of fake $100 bills. Supernotes have been a significant source of income for the North as they collaborate with criminal organizations (most notably Russian) to enter the bills into circulation. The test could have come to buttress Mr. Kim against ambitious officers after a year of financial squeezing. The only promise Mr. Kim has left to sell to is reunification.