In brief
According to the Environmental Justice Foundation, North Korean fishermen endure extreme working conditions on Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean. Their earnings funnel back to the regime, raising concerns over forced labor and human rights abuses in the fishing industry.
Thousands of miles from their homeland, North Korean fishermen are reportedly toiling aboard Chinese tuna longliners in the Indian Ocean, with their earnings directly enhancing the coffers of Kim Jong-un's cash-strapped regime. A new investigation conducted by the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation outlines their grim reality, revealing this unrecognized workforce is often trapped in deplorable conditions for up to a decade at sea, devoid of land contact to avoid exposure to authorities.Despite a United Nations ban on member states from hiring North Korean laborers, which stems from concerns that their income supports the regime’s nuclear ambitions, this practice continues through the fishing industry. North Korea has dispatched thousands of citizens abroad for labor in various sectors, including factories in China, construction in Russia, and shipyards across Eastern Europe.Until recently, the plight of these fishermen had remained largely overlooked due to their isolation in the open ocean. However, the Environmental Justice Foundation warns that conditions on these fishing boats may reflect a form of forced labor that surpasses the abuses found in an already troubled global fishing sector. Their findings suggest many of these workers’ salaries are appropriated by the state, and some of the fish they catch could end up on plates in Europe and Asia, while they remain disconnected from their families and home country. The Foundation's alarming report raises urgent questions about labor rights and the ethics surrounding foreign partnerships in the fisheries industry, calling for heightened scrutiny and accountability in the exploitation of vulnerable labor forces.
