700 Won Siberian Tiger

North Korea's bullion and collector coinage from this period was produced almost entirely for foreign exchange, not domestic circulation — hard currency the regime desperately needed following the catastrophic famines of the late 1990s that killed an estimated 600,000 to 900,000 people. The Siberian tiger, known in Korean as the 백두산호랑이 and historically associated with Baekdu Mountain, carries deep nationalist significance in both Koreas, which may explain its recurrence across DPRK commemorative issues of this era.

Actual striking was almost certainly contracted through foreign mints, as the DPRK lacked the refining infrastructure for .999 gold production at this weight.