What is the history of this coin?

I'am a biologist and currently work with this species. Could someome shed some light on the significance of the species to DPRK?

It's just one of the three coins in the monkeys series. 

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?e=coree_du_nord&r=&st=3&cat=y&im1=&im2=&ru=&ie=&no=&v=1+won&cu=&a=2004&dg=&i=&b=&m=&f=&t=&t2=&w=17.7&mt=&u=&c=&wi=&sw=

And these coins were likely minted because 2004 coincided with the Chinese zodiac Year of the Monkey 🐵