The history of the DPRK’s commemorative coins began in 1987 with the issuance of gold and silver commemorative coins marking the 75th birthday of the Great Leader of the Korean people Comrade Kim Il Sung.
According to the Law on Issuance of DPRK’s Currency promulgated in 1996, commemorative coins have been produced as circulating fiat money. In the same year, the Mint of the Central Bank of the DPRK established a department specializing in minting and selling national commemorative coins.
The issuance of commemorative coins in the DPRK relies on domestic production bases. The quality of DPRK’s commemorative coins has reached a world-leading level.
The DPRK attaches great importance to the issuance of national commemorative coins. Great Leader of Korean people Comrade Kim Jong Il was concerned about the issuance of national commemorative coins and he said, “the Central Bank alone should be authorized to deal with the issuance, circulation and export of all kinds of money, including commemorative coins.”