Reuters: North Korea illegally exports eyelashes and wigs to Western countries, earning "millions of dollars"

In 2023, North Korea exported 1,680 tonnes of false eyelashes, beards and wigs to China, worth about $167 million.

Source. This was reported by Reuters.

According to the publication, these goods are then repackaged and sold, including to Western countries. In 2019, when prices were lower, it exported 1,829 tonnes worth only $31.1 million.

The destination of almost all of North Korea's declared exports is China. Wigs and false eyelashes accounted for almost 60% of the country's exports in 2023.

Reuters interviewed two dozen experts who explained that North Korea has long been a major exporter of wigs and false eyelashes, but during the COVID-1 pandemic, when the country's authorities imposed strict anti-customs restrictions and closed its borders, exports fell sharply. However, in 2023, a significant portion of the trade in North Korean-made eyelashes through China resumed.

The agency notes that the processing, packaging, and worldwide sale of North Korean false eyelashes and wigs, which is openly carried out in neighbouring China, "gives the Kim Jong Un regime the ability to circumvent international sanctions by providing a vital source of foreign exchange".

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Reuters that Beijing and Pyongyang "are friendly neighbours" and that "normal cooperation between the two countries, which is legal and in line with the requirements, should not be exaggerated".

Background. China reportedly complained to the US about the "successful military cooperation" between Russia and North Korea. Beijing does not need another state building up its military and nuclear capabilities on its side.