He said there was no'Bukhansan'... Illegal fishing when smuggling trade is blocked

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Chinese fishing boats, which have been quiet for a while due to the coronavirus crisis and border blockade, have again started illegal fishing in North Korean waters. When the smuggling trade handed over from the sea is blocked, they are directly engaged in illegal fishing, and North Korean crabs are sold in a Chinese seafood market close to North Korea.

Correspondent Kim Ji-sung reported.

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is Donggang, the northernmost port city in China, which is the closest to the Korean Peninsula.

Cattle boats go out into the sea through the mouth of the Yalu River with their nets full.

This waterway connects to the offshore of Yongcheon, North Korea.

Fishing boats on the Donggang River, which had been suspended due to the corona crisis, have resumed from this month.

Donggang fishermen say they go to North Korean waters to catch fish.

[Donggang fishermen: (Don’t you go fishing in North Korean waters these days?) (In North Korean waters) I catch it with a net. I have to go several times. (Are there any crackdowns on the North Korean side?) Crackdown.]

Previously, it was primarily a smuggling trade where fish caught by North Korean fishing boats were handed over from the sea, but nowadays, they said they were operating directly to avoid North Korean surveillance.

This is because North Korea's crackdown on smuggling trade intensified after the coronavirus outbreak.

[Trader to North Korea: I went in at night, went to the coast of Yongcheon, North Korea, threw (net), and the next day, I pulled the net again and sneaked out. You're stealing.] In the

nearby fish market, you can find blue crabs from North Korea.

[Aquatic Products Merchant: (Where is this crab?) It is Mt. North Korea. (Really? The store next door is said to be made in North Korea.) Why isn't there. This kind of crab is not caught in China.]

Donggang, the center of the North Korean-Chinese seafood trade, was hit directly by the Chinese authorities as the Chinese authorities banned the import of North Korean products due to UN sanctions against North Korea.

As the smuggling trade is blocked, illegal fishing in China is now rising again, and we are concerned about damage to Korean fishermen as well as the recovery of the corona crisis in China and the season of full-fledged crabs.

(Video coverage: Choi Deok-hyun, Video editing: Choi Eun-jin, CG: Yoo-jin Lee)