5.000 Won

North Korean won notes of this period were not issued for domestic use in the ordinary sense. The "W" prefix in the Pick reference designates this as a "won" series intended for foreign exchange use — these circulated in the hard-currency shops and hotels accessible to foreigners and regime-approved traders, functioning as a parallel currency alongside the regular domestic won. The 5,000 won denomination placed it at the high end of that system.

The 2002 date coincides with the period when the DPRK was quietly running multiple currency tiers simultaneously, a monetary arrangement that collapsed operationally after the chaotic November 2009 redenomination wiped out domestic savings.