Confusing North Korea Issues...imperf?

I have seen DPR Korea stamps imperf but am not sure if this one is supposed to be imperf. I came across a number which are perf on the Internet...

Checked the catalogue at https://www.freestampcatalogue.com/...orth/page/70 ... but did not find the imperf monkey miniature sheet even though one other guy is selling an imperf sheet on ebay. According to the catalogue, some sheets come with imperf and some don't. Nevertheless confusing...

One more example

Nothing confusing about it - just another way to get our money to pay for their propaganda


Peter

Didn't get much money out of me, I paid less than usd1 for this cover.

Kim Jong Il claims to have been born on Mount Paekdu (a mountain sacred to all Koreans) but in reality he was probably born in a POW camp somewhere in Manchuria. Not quite so glamorous, but not good for the propaganda.

They will say anything to maintain his "god-like" image in the minds of the people.

Most collectors don't collect North Korea because so much of the early stuff has been reprinted with very little information on details between real,reprints and fakes . All the modern stuff is made for export to get foreign currencies .

A lot of the recent stuff ends up in worldwide lots.

Even what were thought for a long time to be the "real" early DPRK stamps turned out to only be made for export. The "local prints", the ones that were actually issued in Pyongyang and on sale in North Korea (to the few high-ranking party members and diplomats that were allowed to use the mails), are extraordinarily difficult to get, and you can't really find them outside of China, where they will be outnumbered a hundred to one by later reprints or forgeries.

Stamps used on real postage covers will definitely be difficult to come by. Have there been any put up on sale?

You may find a few real covers from North Korea on delcampe.net
(the following ones sold between 10 and 20 USD)

Cool, thanks for sharing.

Yvert and Tellier or Stanley Gibbons are the best catalogues listing DPRK stamps. They define original and reprint issues.

The best way to collect DPRK material is postally used on cover or postal stationary. You'll never find reprints on postally used material. Post-1945 thru current material ON COVER or Postal Stationary is extremely scarce and brings extremely high-$,$$$ in Europe, Japan and elsewhere. The material offered at auction on "DPRK Occupied South Korea" (early 1950s) is RARE and priced accordingly, if and when available. The material is found addressed to Russia and Eastern Bloc countries including Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, China (PRC), Turkey, etc.

Collecting DPRK is challenging but can be done, even by U.S. collectors. Material can be seen regularly in sales by Kellerher (Mike Rogers div), George Alevizos as well as other European Auction Houses. Technically, POSTALLY USED DPRK covers and postal stationary entires are not banned by U.S. Customs under the embargo. I know, I collected this material between 1965-80 and sold my collection through a well-known US auction house in 1983 labeled as "North Korea".

Information is available on DPRK material from the American Philatelic Research Library


The Korea Stamp Society (US) is an excellent source of information. Anyone collecting Korea (Empire, Japanese Occup, ROK or DPRK) should join. It is an excellent group.
https://koreastampsociety.org