"North Korean Workers Forced into Slave Labor on Chinese Fishing Boats for 70,000 Won Monthly"

"Up to 10 Years at Sea Without Setting Foot on Land," Labor Conditions Report
Chinese Foreign Ministry: "Cooperation with North Korea Abides by International Law"

Testimonies have emerged that North Korean workers dispatched as crew on Chinese deep-sea fishing vessels are suffering severe labor exploitation.

Chinese fishing vessel caught engaging in illegal fishing activities. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 23rd (local time), citing a report by the UK environmental group Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), on the labor conditions of North Korean workers employed on Chinese tuna fishing deep-sea vessels. The report was based on interviews with 19 Indonesian and Filipino crew members who stated they had worked alongside North Korean workers on Chinese fishing vessels.

The EJF report pointed out that North Korean workers are subjected to harsh treatment akin to forced labor. According to testimonies, Chinese deep-sea fishing vessels operating near Somalia, Mauritius, and Australia regularly dock, but North Korean crew members are transferred to other ships, preventing them from setting foot on land. This is because if the presence of North Korean crew members is discovered by immigration authorities of the respective countries at the port, the Chinese vessels could face legal issues.

In December 2022, the captain of a Chinese fishing vessel and six North Korean crew members were arrested in Mauritius. Previously, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) mandated the repatriation of North Korean workers dispatched abroad as a measure to block foreign currency earning channels in sanctioning North Korea's nuclear development since 2017.

Due to these restrictions, North Korean crew members are unable to dock and are prohibited from possessing mobile phones, reportedly preventing them from contacting their families for years. An Indonesian crew member who worked with six North Korean crew members from late 2022 to June last year said, "One North Korean crew member said he had not contacted his wife even once in seven years." There was also testimony from someone who worked with a North Korean crew member who had not set foot on land for eight years.

It was also found that most of the wages were directly delivered to the North Korean government. The Indonesian crew member received about $330 (approximately 470,000 KRW) per month, but the wages of North Korean crew members were reportedly sent directly to the North Korean government. However, some vessels were said to give North Korean crew members $50 (about 70,000 KRW) from their monthly wages.

The EJF report stated that North Korean crew members work on deep-sea fishing vessels for up to 10 years. While most crew members on Chinese vessels have their passports confiscated and work with only 5 to 6 hours of sleep per day, testimonies indicated that North Korean crew members have the longest experience and are the most skilled among them.

There were also indications that despite working in slave-like conditions, North Korean crew members appear to monitor each other's ideology. They watch videos of speeches by Kim Jong-un, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and sing songs while standing at attention raising the national flag among themselves.

Steve Trent, CEO of EJF, stated, "North Korean crew members have no freedom to choose when or how to work," and criticized, "They are forcibly taken onto ships and confined."

On the 24th, when asked about the report, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not explicitly deny it and stated that cooperation with North Korea is conducted within the legal framework.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Zhen said at a briefing that day, "We do not know the specific situations mentioned in the report," and added, "In principle, China requires compliance with local laws and international regulations in Chinese deep-sea fishing activities." He further stated, "Regarding China-North Korea cooperation, I want to emphasize that all related cooperation between China and North Korea is conducted in accordance with international law."