Date of Award

2014-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Intelligence and National Security

Advisor(s)

Larry A. Valero

Abstract

Michael Yatskievych, University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract of Master's Thesis, Submitted 21 May 2014:

North Korean Supernotes: Nuclear Arms Financed By Counterfeit Currency

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate whether DPRK is producing high quality counterfeit US currency, supernotes, and has determined to what extent supernotes are financing North Korea's emerging nuclear arms program.

The application of Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, ACH, satisfied this study's purpose by meeting the following objectives: the development of multiple hypotheses in an attempt to explain a supernote-nuclear arms program link, assessing evidence from assorted sources, providing a diagnostic weighing hypotheses and evidence, and refining the evidence for inconsistencies and sensitivity.

The thesis demonstrated, with the use of ACH, that supernotes are a powerful catalyst in fulfilling DPRK's nuclear objectives. Evaluation on the manufacturing of supernotes revealed that as greater volumes of supernotes are manufactured the occurrence of illicit activities also increase, further compromising international safety.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

119 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Michael Yatskievych

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