On November 30, 2009 (October 14, 2009 in the lunar calendar), North Korea's currency was reformed. The original North Korean currency was discontinued from November 30, 2009 to replace the new currency. The exchange ratio between the old and new currencies was 1:100. The maximum exchange limit for each household was 150,000 old currency. The government promised that the salary amount in the planned economic system would remain unchanged, that is, the actual wage soared by a hundredfold. Kim Yong-il held a meeting with government officials and local ordinary cadres at the People's Cultural Palace in Pyongyang at 10 am on February 5, 2010. At the meeting, Kim Yong-il read a prepared apology for an hour. He said: "I apologize for the great pain caused to the people by blindly implementing this currency reform because I did not fully prepare in advance. I will do my best to stabilize the people's lives. "Brief Introduction to Reform North Korean Foreign Ministry officials informed the embassy in the capital Pyongyang that the original North Korean currency will be suspended from November 30 to replace the new currency. The exchange rate of the old and new currencies is 1 to 100. This is the first time North Korea has changed its currency since 1992. Citizens scramble to exchange dollars and yuan, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing sources, that the North Korean currency increase will take effect at 11 am on November 30, and the old currency will be replaced by the new currency at 2 pm on the same day. The old and new currencies will be replaced at 1 to 100, that is, the original 1,000-won banknotes will be replaced by 10-won banknotes. According to the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, a source inside North Korea said on the same day: "Some Pyongyang citizens were taken aback and confused. They rushed to the black market to exchange their hidden money for dollars or yuan, causing chaos. Everyone was hit hard. The exchange rate of the US dollar and the RMB rose." Before the increase in the value of the currency, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 135 Korean won. Agence France-Presse reported that the exchange rate of the US dollar in the black market in North Korea is 1:2,000 to 3,000 Korean won. If the US dollar is in short supply, about 20,000 Korean won can be exchanged for 1 US dollar. The reporter saw in Pyongyang that due to the change of currency, shops have been suspended, waiting for new prices for goods. Some salespeople told reporters that the new prices for goods have not been issued, so they cannot be sold, and they can return to normal in a week. Purpose North Korea's increase in the value of the currency this time is aimed at combating inflation and cracking down on black market transactions. Reports suggest that the government is trying to dig money out of the underground economic system. Yang Moon-soo, an economic expert at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, believes that the North Korean government's increase in the value of the currency has both economic and political purposes. On the one hand, North Korea hopes to use this move to get rid of inflation; on the other hand, it can use the process of changing the currency to check the wealth gatherers. "The government will check the money people put in their wallets," he said. "In this process, those who have amassed money legally or illegally will be exposed, and those who fear punishment will have to bury their illegally earned money." The Chosun Ilbo quoted a source inside North Korea as saying: "The authorities explained that the exchange of currency is because the situation of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is becoming more and more serious, so it is necessary to eliminate this economic imbalance." The source also said: "After the implementation of the 7.1 economic reform measures in 2002 (which introduced part of the market economy to North Korea), prices soared sharply. It may be because the North Korean currency depreciated sharply, so the currency reform was forced." However, the North Korean state media has not reported the news of the government's increase in the value of the currency. Affect South Korean media reported on December 3, 2009 that due to popular protests, the North Korean authorities also raised the convertible 100,000 old currency to 150,000. Yonhap News Agency also said that although North Korea has implemented currency reform since the 1st, North Korean residents are not actively exchanging new currencies. In order to prevent emergencies, the military department is greatly strengthening the security force. According to US media news on December 15, North Korea recently increased the limit for people to exchange old coins for new coins, raising the limit of each resident to 500,000 old coins. The North Korean authorities also assured the people that the excess old coins stored in the bank can also be exchanged for new coins through bank deposits. It is reported that the North Korean government's move is to ease public anger and anxiety about currency reform. The folding led to a sharp rise in prices. US media reported on the 3rd, citing sources from South Korean aid organizations to North Korea, that North Korean banks officially started the new and old currency exchange work on the morning of the 2nd, a move that will wipe out most of the private savings accumulated by the people through market activities. According to sources from inside North Korea, the currency exchange was originally planned to start on the 1st, but it was protested by some people because of the sudden incident. Domestic telephones in North Korea were cut off, and the government ordered a curfew to eliminate hidden dangers and postponed the currency exchange work by one day. The situation in the countryside is relatively more complicated. According to a North Korea-related radio station in Seoul, South Korea, some wealthy North Koreans in urban areas flocked to rural areas to make a big purchase, hoping to spend the old money before rural residents learned of the currency exchange news. The radio station also reported that the price of commodities in North Korea has skyrocketed as people try to spend too much of North Korea's old currency before the deadline: the price of rice in old currency has risen 20-fold since last weekend, and the price of corn has risen 30-fold. Despite the public anger expressed by residents of Folding, North Korea's official news agency, television station and major newspapers have not announced the currency exchange as of the evening of the 2nd. It is said that relevant organizations in South Korea and Japan have been monitoring North Korean media. US media reported that the North Korean authorities released news through closed-circuit systems and transmitted the news through loudspeakers installed in homes and streets. Information released in this way is difficult to monitor outside North Korea. The performance of North Korean state media further added to the mystery of the operation. Previously, North Korea has issued new currency four times, each time with great fanfare and explanation to the outside world. Before the exchange of the old and new currencies, North Korean organizations in South Korea claimed that the average North Korean household generally had more than 1 million yuan in cash, and 100,000 yuan was only enough for a family of four to live for two months. The report also quoted sources inside North Korea as saying that the government ordered funds exceeding the per capita exchange limit to be deposited in banks, but the amount of savings also set a limit of 300,000 to 3 million yuan. In addition, North Korean banks are "compulsory savings houses", and depositors cannot withdraw money at any time, so many people have complained. The source said that although security personnel have greatly tightened controls, North Korean residents still publicly express anger. Failure On March 18, 2010, it was reported that Park Nam-ki, the former minister of planning and finance of the Workers' Party of Korea, was executed by gunfire in Pyongyang last week for failing to reform the currency. The report also quoted sources as saying that the North Korean authorities charged Park Nam-ki with "sneaking into the revolutionary ranks as the son of a big landowner and deliberately killing the country's economy." So far, the currency reform that North Korea has implemented since November 2009 has been a complete failure.