Correspondence
Email sent to three contact addresses for North Korea's Foreign Ministry.
The email said: "The use of overseas North Korean workers was prohibited by the United Nations Security Council in 2017, with Resolution 2397 setting a deadline of December 2019 for the repatriation of all such workers to North Korea. However, our investigation has found large numbers of North Korean workers at a range of seafood processing plants in Dandong city, close to China’s border with North Korea. Our research indicates that the dispatch of workers abroad is partially overseen by Bureau 39, and in the specific case of workers destined for seafood processing factories, the DPRK Fisheries Association helps to coordinate. Please let us know if that is correct.
We have also come across numerous cases of Chinese vessels fishing in North Korean waters, as recently as 2023, as well as the transfer of seafood from North Korean vessels to Chinese ships at sea. The export of seafood from North Korea and the sale of North Korean fishing licenses are prohibited under United Nations Sanctions. Does the Ministry have any comment or statement to make regarding the issues raised in this email?"