CHANGCHUN, China, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- A total of 24 North Korean business entities took part in an annual trade fair hosted by China, showing off a range of food and medicine, including a blood thinner. 

The 10th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, the capital city of China's Jilin province that shares a border with North Korea, drew hundreds of companies from South Korea, North Korea, China, Russia, Mongolia and Japan. 

Among products displayed by North Korean firms were a blood thinner, an organic toothpaste and liquors. 

Kim Yong-kwon, head of a North Korean trading entity named Pyongyang Trading Co., said, "We have advertised our products and figured out customer reactions by participating into the Northeast Asia Expo since its inception." 

Showing off a blood thinner, Kim said, "Many buyers from Changchun and Beijing are looking for this." 

More than 70 South Korean firms also offered products at the six-day Chinese expo that will end on Sunday. 

To capitalize on the rising popularity of South Korean TV dramas and pop music in China, the South Korean firms, including CJ Group, displayed household goods and beauty products. 

In his keynote speech to the expo, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang called for the nations in Northeast Asia to promote regional connectivity. 

"Developing combined transport by rail and sea, road passages and other infrastructure is practical to establish a flexible transportation network throughout the Northeast Asian region," Wang said.