North Korea’s wig exports have soared to over $100 million in the first half of this year, setting a new record.
According to an analysis by Voice of America (VOA) based on data from China’s General Administration of Customs, North Korea earned $105 million from wig and eyelash exports to China in the first six months of the year. This figure represents 59.9% of North Korea’s total exports, which amounted to $176 million.
In the first half of the previous year, North Korea’s exports of artificial hair products also topped all other items, with a value of $74 million, reflecting an increase of $31.6 million. Following the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2375 in September 2017, which banned traditional North Korean exports such as textiles, North Korea shifted to exporting non-sanctioned items like wigs and eyelashes to China starting in 2018.
North Korea imports raw materials from China to manufacture these wigs and then sells the finished products back to China. According to the General Administration of Customs, China’s exports of artificial hair products to the U.S. reached $1.16 billion in the first half of this year, accounting for 65.4% of China’s total artificial hair product exports, which stood at about $1.8 billion.
VOA highlighted that importing wigs from China does not breach UN sanctions against North Korea unless there is clear evidence of North Korean forced labor involved in the manufacturing process. However, such imports could potentially violate the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which might result in confiscating such items at all U.S. entry points.
CAATSA is a law enacted in 2017 to prevent North Koreans from earning foreign currency through forced labor. It prohibits the importation of any products that utilize North Korean labor at any stage of mining, production, or manufacturing.
Most Commented