 During the Cold War, North Korea paid for goods it imported from the Soviet Union with poor quality tobacco.Later, during the years of the Sunshine Policy, high-end Pyongyang brand cigarettes were exported to South Korea where they were popular among South Koreans who wanted to express a pro-reunification stance.There are some privately owned tobacco factories, some of which are known to produce counterfeit brand cigarettes for export as part of North Korea's illicit activities to earn hard currency.