Chinese Tuna Fleet Used North Korean Forced Labour In Indian Ocean, Finds EJF

A new investigation by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), a non-governmental organisation, revealed that a fleet of Chinese tuna fishing vessels in the Southwest Indian Ocean used North Korean crew members between 2019 and 2024.

The report reveals that these workers were forced labourers, with some trapped at sea for up to a decade.

The use of North Korean labour violates United Nations (UN) sanctions that prohibit member states from employing North Koreans due to concerns over forced labour and financial contributions to Pyongyang’s weapons programs.

According to EJF, at least 12 Chinese tuna longliners employed North Korean workers, who were transferred between vessels to prevent them from returning to land.

Testimonies from 19 Indonesian and Filipino crew members, who worked alongside the North Koreans, describe harsh conditions.

The North Korean workers were reportedly denied basic rights such as communication devices and the ability to disembark during port visits.

One Indonesian crew member stated, “Six Koreans were not allowed to go home even after they completed their four-year contract. They were just moved from one ship to another”

Some remained at sea for up to ten years without setting foot on land, a condition that meets the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) criteria for forced labour.

The employment of North Korean workers on these Chinese vessels directly violates the 2017 UN Security Council resolutions, which required all member states to stop issuing work permits to North Koreans and repatriate existing workers by the end of 2019.

These sanctions were imposed after North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, which breached previous international agreements.

China remains a key destination for North Korean labour, with estimates suggesting that up to 100,000 North Koreans work in industries such as seafood processing, construction and manufacturing.

However, this is the first documented case of North Korean workers being employed on distant-water fishing vessels.

The investigation also suggests that seafood caught by these vessels may have entered global markets, including the UK, EU and Asia, despite regulations designed to prevent products linked to forced labour from entering supply chains.

Some of these fish were transferred through transhipment, a practice where the catch is moved between vessels at sea to obscure its origins.

The report also found widespread illegal fishing activities on the vessels employing North Korean crew members. These include shark finning, capturing prohibited species, and the killing of marine mammals like dolphins.

The crew members were physically abused, verbally mistreated, and worked for excessive hours with restrictions on communication and movement. The captains of the vessels took deliberate action to hide the presence of North Korean workers on board.

EJF attributes these violations to weak fisheries management and poor enforcement of port regulations. The organisation has urged flag states and Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to implement strict transparency measures to prevent such abuses in the future.

Steve Trent, CEO and FOunder of EJF, criticised the lack of regulation in international waters, stating, “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. However, the use of North Korean forced labour for such long periods is a particularly severe example of the egregious misconduct uncovered by EJF.

Trent also stated that seafood caught under such conditions reaches global markets, making it a shared responsibility among nations to enforce stricter monitoring and supply chain transparency.

He discussed the need for immediate action like mandatory tracking of vessel movements and closer regulation of transhipment practices, to prevent forced labour at sea.

When questioned about the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated that he was not familiar with the findings but insisted that China follows international laws and regulations in its offshore fishing operations.

He also claimed that China’s cooperation with North Korea complies with international laws.

Despite the UN ban, many experts believe North Korean workers are still employed in various industries worldwide, with much of their earnings directed toward North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Defectors and analysts have previously reported that North Korean labourers abroad face strict government surveillance, work long hours, and receive only a small portion of their wages while the rest is taken by the North Korean government.

China and Russia have been accused of not fully enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea, despite ongoing missile and nuclear tests by Pyongyang.

Reference: ejfoundation

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