1 Won - Kwangmyongsong-3

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 was a North Korean earth observation satellite launched in December 2012 — the second attempt that year after an April failure that embarrassed Pyongyang internationally. The successful December launch drew immediate UN Security Council condemnation and additional sanctions, as the same rocket technology is directly applicable to intercontinental ballistic missile development. Commemorative coinage marking the launch appeared years after the fact, part of a broader DPRK practice of issuing collector-targeted brass pieces for hard currency export rather than domestic circulation.