‘US counterfeiting its own currency’

‘‘They let these notes find their way to the DPRK (Democratic people’s Republic of Korea) and go out of it in the course of commercial transaction in a desperate bid to term it ‘producer of counterfeit notes’,’’ the North’s Ministry of People’s Security said in the statement, carried by Korean Central News Agency.

The US has accused North Korea of counterfeiting $100 bills, one of the alleged illegal activities carried out by Pyongyang that has prompted Washington to slap financial sanctions against the Korean state. North Korea has called the accusations a ‘‘sheer lie’’ and pledged it won’t return to six-nation talks on its nuclear programme unless the sanctions are lifted.