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Found this article on the best currency to take to North Korea, but it's from 2018 and there's pros and cons to all currencies listed. The other question on here is also 5 years old.

Was wondering if anyone has been on a tour recently and what was the best to use?

The con for the US Dollar was used tacky bills, but I can get crisp ones, is this widely acceptable?

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Based on the linked article (from May 2019), most prices seem to be 'rounded' to $1 (6.66 RBM) when paying in dollars, so by paying in RMB with smaller notes you may pay a lower price.

So small Chinese notes (1, 5, 10, and 20 RMB) would seem to be the best option.

Since the tours start from China, getting a good supply of good quality notes should pose no problem.

The $1 bill is among the most useful denominations to carry on your journey. 'It seems everything costs a dollar', is a common comment you might hear from travelers. The reason for this is largely convenience, so one need no bother with finding or making change. Items which may cost a dollar are: a soda, canned coffee, a glass of beer, or small trinkets. The $5 bill is also very convenient, although it may require the augmentation of a lone $1 to be on par with the €[$]5 note.

Also known as yuan or simply 'bi' (pronounced 'bee'), the fact that the largest denomination of 100 RMB is worth about 15 USD makes it an extremely useful currency. The 1, 5, 10, and 20 RMB notes are especially useful for making smaller purchase and notes in good condition are relatively easy to obtain.

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    OP has already read the article, and is asking how accurate/up-to-date the advice is. I struggle to see how quotes from the article answer that.
    – Chris H
    Dec 3, 2019 at 11:37
  • @ChrisH The point was that the low denomination Chinese notes would be more flexible than the single $1 note. That is true in December as it was last May. Relevent portions of source should be quoted in case the link in the future is no longer available.
    – Mark Johnson
    Dec 3, 2019 at 11:42
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    That point doesn't seem at all clear to me in your answer, even re-reading after you've told me that that's what you're trying to say. But now I know your intention, I'm also confused why you seem to be using "most prices seem to be rounded to $1" to explain that the flexibility of notes worth significantly less than a dollar is an advantage.
    – Chris H
    Dec 3, 2019 at 11:58
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    you're the one who said "most prices are rounded to $1. So small Chinese notes would seem to be the best option". I don't know or care what prices in North Korea are like and I'm not trying to provide advice to OP about which notes to carry (because I don't have the knowledge necessary to provide good advice on that topic). But what I do know is that that prices being rounded to $1 is not a good reason to prefer Chinese notes worth significantly less than a dollar.
    – Chris H
    Dec 3, 2019 at 12:12
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    Although even now that's cleared up I still think that this answer, being entirely based on the article OP themself linked to and asked about the accuracy of, falls short of actually being at all helpful to OP.
    – Chris H
    Dec 3, 2019 at 12:31

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