Due to central encouragement for fisherman
to support foreign currency earning by redoubling their seafaring expeditions
before the New Year, over 150 North Korean fisherman have disappeared in the
East Sea. Moreover, central authorities have no plans in motion to address or
recover the lost fisherman and are continuing to encourage concentrated fishing
activity.
In a recent telephone conversation with the
Daily NK, an inside source from South Hamgyong Province said, “Similar to last
year, over 150 fisherman went out into the East Sea but never returned. At the
end of the year, if you include only those residents operating under South
Hamgyong’s People’s Committee and local Ministry of People’s Security (MPS, or
North Korea’s equivalent of a police force) the Provincial Security
Bureau, the tally reaches 150. However, 100s more were likely sent from
provinces like North Hamgyong and Kangwon.”
Two sources in South Hamgyong Province as
well as an informant in Kangwon Province verified these claims.
According to accident reports and
investigations, the majority of those who perished embarked on small, 8-12
horsepower (dangerously low for use on the open ocean) wooden boats , during
squid season (beginning around June) and sailfin sandfish season (in
November-December). The majority of the sunken vessels were not produced by
expert shipbuilders in factories, but were instead small boats assembled
awkwardly by individual carpenters.
As residents in regions abutting the East
Sea do not have a regular income to rely on, the source explained, they are
therefore forced to brave the rough conditions in order to feed their families
by proactively fishing during the squid and sailfin sandfish seasons. But the
fisherman’s small crafts and unreliable engines are no match for the ocean’s
mighty squalls. For this reason, many of the fisherman who go out to earn for
their family never return to shore.
“When the fishing season kicks off, seaside
families are known to invest their savings and even put a lien on their house
in order to buy a wooden ship and fishing equipment.They buy
small, 8-12 horsepower engines manufactured in China, but usually do not have
radios or other communications equipment onboard,” he said.
“They are then forced by the authorities to
go out for dozens of days. It is no wonder then when scores of the vessels
break down or sink in the midst of an operation, standing their operators.”
Just last month, he went on to add, countless families of fisherman from Sinpo, Danchon, Kim Chaek, and Chongjin
were “waiting anxiously for husbands and fathers who never returned from their
voyages. Although the authorities have heard countless iterations of said
stories over the past few years, “they have not prepared any policies to
prevent such accidents or rescue the sailors.”
Furthermore, the State Security Department
and Ministry of People’s Security branches in the relevant districts are not offering
condolences or outlining a clear policy but are instead investigating the
accidents by probing family members to confirm whether their deceased relative
actually made the trip out to sea.
In fact, as previously reported by Daily NK,
authorities have gone as far as to force a grieving family to sign a document
to ensure they will not commit suicide in order to escape the debt caused by
their relative’s demise at sea. According to Daily NK’s sources, this practice
is currently still in full effect.
When asked about how residents are
responding to the news, the source said, “Residents are upset because the
authorities have shown a willingness to sit by and watch normal people die in
droves without lifting a finger. Some residents are expressing frank criticism
about state propaganda announcing ‘a bumper year for seafood’ by declaring it a
‘bumper year for missing persons.’ They also argue that if it is truly a bumper
year, then the authorities should invest in a more active coast guard with the
capacity to rescue the beleaguered sailors.”
According to the Japanese media, over 14
North Korean vessels containing 31 dead bodies have drifted onto the Japanese
coast over the past two months.
