N. Korea's exports of beauty products jump over 13 times in 2023: data

North Korean beauty product is displayed at North Korea's 2022 Women's Clothing Expedition in Pyongyang, released Dec. 15, 2022. Yonhap

North Korea's exports of beauty products to China, such as wigs and false eyelashes, soared more than 13 times last year from the previous year amid the North's border opening, Chinese customs data showed Monday.

The value of the North's exports of beauty-related goods reached $167 million last year, up 13.4 times from the previous year, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs.

The outbound shipment of such goods accounted for 57.1 percent of North Korea's total yearly exports of $292 million, the data showed.

North Korea appears to have expanded exports of beauty supplies, which are not subject to U.N. sanctions, in a bid to earn much-wanted hard currency amid economic difficulties, experts said.

The North has been under stringent U.N. sanctions that ban the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources to prevent the country from financing its nuclear and missile programs.

The value of trade volume between North Korea and China amounted to $2.3 billion last year, up 137 percent from the previous year, the data showed. The bilateral trade recovered to 82.3 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

North Korea partially opened its border with China last year following years of COVID-19 border closure, increasing the operations of freight trains and transport by land. (Yonhap)