North Korean Sailors not Allowed Ashore for ten Years

Verbal and physical abuse – and sometimes as much as a decade without being allowed to go ashore.

In violation of UN sanctions, North Koreans endure forced labour and gross violations on board Chinese ships, according to a report.

Between 2019 and 2024, North Koreans employed by Chinese fishing vessels were subjected to widespread abuse, according to a report by the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).

‘North Koreans on board were forced to work for as much as ten years at sea – in some cases without ever setting foot on land,’ they write.

The ships were also likely in violation of UN sanctions, the report says. Under a 2017 UN Security Council resolution, backed by China, North Koreans are banned from earning foreign currency as the money is likely to end up in the regime’s coffers for nuclear and missile development. However, analysts have long accused both Beijing and Moscow of circumventing the rules for their own benefit.

Not allowed to go home

According to the EJF report, based on interviews with dozens of Indonesian and Filipino crew members of Chinese tuna vessels in the Indian Ocean, the regime in Pyongyang did not allow the North Koreans to go home – or even to have contact with loved ones.

‘They never communicated with their wives or others while at sea, as they were not allowed to carry mobile phones,’ said one fisherman.

The vessels in question were also reportedly involved in illegal shark finning and fishing for large mammals, such as dolphins. One photo in the report shows a dolphin with its head cut off.

Kim takes 90 per cent

The report authors call for accountability.

‘China bears primary responsibility, but when products tainted by modern slavery end up on the plate, it becomes clear that flag states and regulations must take full responsibility,’ they write.

Beijing says it is not aware of the specific cases covered by the report, AFP reports.

According to the US State Department, between 20,000 and 100,000 North Koreans are working in China in violation of UN sanctions. Kim Jong-Un’s regime is said to be confiscating up to 90% of expatriate workers’ wages and forcing them to continue working.