Chinese pirates terrorizing North Korean fishermen in Yellow Sea
It is said that Chinese pirates enter the Yellow Sea of North Korea very often, killing North Korean fishermen and they even extort their fishing vessels.
A Chinese pirate was killed by a soldier of North Korea in 2009 and that strained relations among the 2 allies for a while.
Kang Seong-hyeon (pseudonym), a North Korean defector that used to run an overseas trading business in the Yellow Sea and came to South Korea 2 years ago, told the Seoul-based North Korea Reform Broadcast that Chinese pirates are active in the Yellow Sea. It was the 1st report in South Korea on North Korean soldiers being killed by Chinese pirates intruding the territorial waters of North Korea. The defector’s in-depth interview is planned to be broadcast. The radio channel is dedicated to the North Korean people and run by former defectors in the South.
Kang Seong told, “Chinese pirates most frequently appear in waters in front of the Cheolsan peninsula of North Pyongan Province. They usually kill fishermen, take fishing vessels and run away. Those pirates may easily be armed because weapons are illegally traded for several hundred dollars in China.”
Chinese pirates hijack fishing vessels because the boats are Chinese products and pirates may resell them in China for large amounts of money. North Korean fishermen may go to China and buy second-hand 80 horse power fishing vessels for US$30,000 and those with 54 horse power for US$15,000. Chinese pirates are known to resell the stolen vessels to people in other countries or even to North Koreans.
Source: http://www.vesselfinder.com/
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