Barred from exporting clothes, Pyongyang cashes in on fake hair, eyelashes

News Snapshot:

SEOUL - North Korea may be known for making weapons of mass destruction, but its biggest exports are a lot more innocuous – and even flimsy. False eyelashes and wigs now make up the lion’s share of its exports to neighbour China, which is by far North Korea’s largest trading partner. These items made up nearly 60 per cent of North Korea’s annual exports totalling US$292 million (S$390 million) to China in 2023, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs released on Jan 22. The export value of these beauty products spiked by more than 13 times from...