Between 2019 and 2024, North Koreans employed by Chinese fishing vessels were subjected to extensive abuse, according to a report from the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
"North Koreans on board were forced to work at sea for as long as ten years – in some cases without ever setting foot on land," they write.
The vessels also likely violated UN sanctions, the report notes. According to a 2017 UN Security Council resolution, backed by China, North Koreans are prohibited from earning foreign currency, as the money is likely to end up in the regime's coffers for nuclear and missile development. Analysts have long accused both Beijing and Moscow of circumventing the regulations for their own gain.
Not allowed to go home
According to the EJF report, which is based on interviews with a dozen Indonesian and Filipino crew members on Chinese tuna fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean, the Pyongyang regime did not allow the North Koreans to return home – or even to have contact with loved ones.
"They never communicated with their wives or others while they were at sea, as they were not allowed to have mobile phones," says a fisherman.
The vessels in question are also said to have been involved in illegal shark finning and fishing of large marine mammals, such as dolphins. A photo in the report shows a dolphin with its head cut off.
Kim takes 90 percent
The report authors are demanding accountability.
"China bears primary responsibility, but when products tainted by modern slavery end up on the dinner plate, it becomes clear that flag states and regulatory bodies must take full responsibility," they write.
Beijing claims not to be aware of the specific cases mentioned in the report, according to AFP.
According to the US State Department, between 20,000 and 100,000 North Koreans work in China in violation of UN sanctions. Kim Jong-Un's regime is said to seize up to 90 percent of the foreign workers' wages and force them to continue working.
