Tue Feb 25 06:30:41 UTC 2025: ## North Korean Workers Allegedly Forced into Years of Sea Labor on Chinese Vessels

**Seoul/Beijing –** A new report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) alleges widespread abuse of North Korean workers forced to labor on Chinese-flagged fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean. The report, released Monday, details accounts from Indonesian and Filipino crew members who witnessed North Koreans working for up to a decade at sea without ever setting foot on land. These workers faced verbal and physical abuse and harsh conditions, constituting what the EJF describes as forced labor on a scale surpassing much of that already seen in the abusive global fishing industry.

The report’s findings are based on interviews conducted between 2019 and 2024. Crew members reported that North Korean workers were forbidden from contacting family, lacked access to mobile phones, and were prevented from returning home by their government. The vessels involved are also implicated in shark finning and the capture of other large marine animals, potentially supplying markets in the EU, UK, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. One image included in the report depicts a dolphin with its head cut off.

EJF CEO Steve Trent stated that the impact of this illegal labor is global, with seafood from these operations reaching markets worldwide. While China bears primary responsibility, Trent emphasized the need for flag states and regulators to take responsibility for products tainted by modern slavery.

In response to the report, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that China was unaware of the specific case but requires all offshore fishing activities to comply with local and international laws. He added that cooperation between China and North Korea adheres to international law. The US State Department previously estimated that 20,000 to 100,000 North Koreans work in China under forced labor conditions, with the North Korean government withholding up to 90% of their wages. The report highlights a significant breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2397 (2017), which mandates the deportation of North Korean workers to prevent funding of Pyongyang’s weapons programs.

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