SEOUL, South Korea — A recent report reveals that from 2019 to 2024, a number of Chinese fishing boats utilized North Korean crews in direct violation of U.N. sanctions, resulting in numerous cases of maltreatment. Many of these crew members reportedly faced dreadful conditions, including being stranded at sea for extended periods, sometimes lasting several years.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a London-based organization that addresses environmental and human rights issues, disclosed through its investigation that North Korean personnel were identified on 12 Chinese tuna long-liners operating in the southwestern Indian Ocean. This assessment was largely founded on interviews conducted with 19 Indonesian and Filipino crew members who worked alongside the North Koreans.
The testimony from the Indonesian and Filipino sailors indicates there were intentional efforts to obscure the presence of North Koreans aboard these fishing vessels. As per the report, many North Korean workers were compelled to labor at sea for up to ten years without ever making landfall.
Such practices signify a level of forced labor that is notably more severe than much of what has been documented within the global fishing sector, an industry already notorious for its unethical treatment of workers. The report highlighted that North Korean crew members were shuffled from one boat to another to impede their chances of returning to shore. Unnamed crew members from Asia mentioned that North Koreans aboard these vessels were barred from using mobile devices or leaving the ship during port stops.
The EJF was unable to determine the exact number of North Korean individuals employed on these Chinese fishing boats due to their constant transfer between vessels. Employing North Korean labor on these ships constitutes a clear infringement of U.N. Security Council resolutions established in 2017, which mandated that U.N. member nations refrain from issuing work permits to North Korean citizens and repatriate any remaining workers by the end of 2019. These sanctions were enacted following North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, which defied prior council directives.
Additionally, the report suggests that the employment of North Korean crews has circumvented legal protections in the U.K. and the European Union, which aim to prevent products manufactured by North Korean labor from infiltrating their markets. The EJF also noted that vessels suspected of harvesting fish from these Chinese boats have been found entering major Asian markets, including Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Similar to Russia, China is also accused of not diligently enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and has consistently vetoed U.S. initiatives intended to tighten these sanctions, even in light of North Korea’s banned tests. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has yet to release a statement regarding these allegations.
This marks the first instance where the presence of North Korean laborers on distant-water fishing vessels has been officially documented. Prior to the 2019 U.N. deadline, it was reported that tens of thousands of North Koreans were working overseas, predominantly in factories and eateries in China, as well as in logging and construction sectors in Russia, as a means to generate much-needed foreign currency for their country.
Testimony from defectors and experts indicates that North Korean workers abroad are generally under constant surveillance from their government’s security officials, working more than twelve hours a day and receiving only a small percentage of their earnings, with the remainder directed to the regime. Despite the U.N. restrictions, South Korean authorities and analysts believe a considerable number of North Korean laborers continue to participate in global economic activities, funneling funds that may support North Korea’s nuclear weapons initiatives.
