North Korea's criminal activity continues at full speed despite recently warming relations with the US. North Korea rakes in $1 billion each year through counterfeiting (mostly of US $100 bills) and the sale of drugs. Russian police recently confiscated $1.7 billion in phony US currency from a top North Korean official. Pyongyang appears to be trying to unload its stash of phony cash before a normalization deal, which would certainly require them to give up their criminal enterprises. --Stephen V Cole