A fleet of Chinese fishing vessels allegedly subjected their North Korean crew members to forced labour conditions and severe restrictions, a British environmental group claimed in a report on Monday.
At least 12 Chinese tuna longliners operating in southwestern Indian Ocean from 2019 to 2024 used North Korean crew members in violation of UN sanctions designed to curb Pyongyang’s ability to generate revenue for its weapons programmes, the Environmental Justice Foundation claimed in its report.
The foundation, headquartered in London, claimed to have interviewed 19 Indonesian and Filipino fishermen who worked alongside the Koreans.
“The testimony received from Indonesian and Filipino crew members suggests that concerted efforts were made to hide the presence of North Koreans on these vessels and that those North Koreans on board were forced to work for as many as 10 years at sea – in some instances without ever stepping foot on land,” the report said. “This would constitute forced labor of a magnitude that surpasses much of that witnessed in a global fishing industry already replete with abuse.”
The North Korean workers weren’t permitted to use mobile phones or disembark during port visits apparently to prevent their detection, the report said.
“Six Koreans weren’t allowed to go home even after they completed their four-year contract,” the report quoted an Indonesian fisherman as saying. “They were just moved from one ship to another.”
Frequent transfers between vessels made it hard to determine the exact number of North Koreans working under these conditions, the report said.
The UN Security Council mandated in 2017 that all member states repatriate North Korean workers by the end of 2019 and stop issuing them work permits. The employment of these workers on Chinese vessels, therefore, was a significant breach of these sanctions, the report noted.
It also suggested that seafood from ships employing alleged North Korean forced labour had entered supply chains in the UK, EU and Asia.
The report highlighted concerns that China’s fishing fleet, the largest in the world, was associated with labour exploitation and illegal fishing practices.
An Indonesian fisherman quoted in the report claimed that North Korean workers saw fishing as a way to avoid military conscription, but they were ultimately left with no financial reward.
“They were not happy about the arrangement, but they don’t have any option,” he said, explaining that the North Korean government withheld their wages and, in some cases, compensated them with housing upon return.
Steve Trent, chief executive of the foundation, called for greater transparency in global supply chains to prevent goods produced through forced labour from reaching international markets.
“The use of North Korean labour on board Chinese fishing vessels is a damning indictment of the failure to regulate our oceans. Illegal fishing and human rights abuses can be found almost without exception on board China’s distant-water vessels,” he said. “However, the use of North Korean forced labour for such long periods is a particularly severe example of the egregious misconduct uncovered by EJF.”
Asked about the report, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said he was unfamiliar with the findings but insisted that China’s offshore fishing operations adhered to national and international regulations, the Guardian reported.
“China’s relevant cooperation with North Korea is conducted within the framework of international law,” the spokesperson said.
Pyongyang did not react to the report.
Additional reporting by agencies.
