5 Won

North Korean currency from this period was not designed for a functioning market economy — it was a rationing instrument. The 1978 series circulated alongside the parallel "red won" issued exclusively to foreign visitors and diplomats, a dual-currency system meant to quarantine foreign exchange from the domestic population entirely.

The CS designation in the Pick reference indicates this is a collector series note, meaning its precise circulation history within the DPRK remains effectively unverifiable by outside researchers. Watermarked cotton paper was the sole security feature, modest even by regional standards of the time.