North Korea's 2002 note series was introduced partly in anticipation of the July 2002 economic reforms — the most significant price and wage adjustments the DPRK had attempted since the 1950s. Those reforms effectively acknowledged that the state distribution system had collapsed, and new currency stock was needed to support a newly semi-monetized economy. It didn't hold. Hyperinflation followed within years, and the entire currency was redenominated in 2009 at a 100:1 ratio, wiping out household savings held in cash.
P#44 was rendered worthless overnight by that redenomination decree.
North Korea's 2002 note series was introduced partly in anticipation of the July 2002 economic reforms — the most significant price and wage adjustments the DPRK had attempted since the 1950s. Those reforms effectively acknowledged that the state distribution system had collapsed, and new currency stock was needed to support a newly semi-monetized economy. It didn't hold. Hyperinflation followed within years, and the entire currency was redenominated in 2009 at a 100:1 ratio, wiping out household savings held in cash.
P#44 was rendered worthless overnight by that redenomination decree.