US Customs vows to block imports made by North Korea workers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is ready to block U.S. imports of seafood — as well as any other goods — produced by North Korean laborers who work in China.

An Associated Press investigation tracked salmon, squid and cod processed by North Korean laborers working abroad to American stores, including Walmart and ALDI. The North Korean workers found in Chinese factories aren’t allowed to leave, and receive only a fraction of their pay — most goes straight to the North Korean state. This means that American consumers buying seafood labeled “Caught in the USA, Processed in China” may inadvertently be subsidizing the government of Kim Jong Un as it builds nuclear weapons, and also supporting forced labor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Thursday it is reviewing the allegations and if warranted, would “pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation as appropriate.” The companies that responded also vowed to investigate ties with suppliers.

GOP Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who has repeatedly called for tougher enforcement, said the Labor Department has already identified trafficking in 12 sectors of goods exported by China.

“CBP should be stopping every shipment from those sectorsand now trafficking-tainted salmon too,” he said.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said Thursday the North Korean government’s scheme to outsource its labor underscores why the United States has pushed for restrictions on North Korean foreign workers. The spokesman said all countries should, at a minimum, ban companies from bringing in North Korean crews, as pledged in recent United Nations sanctions.

China is among the countries that have promised to comply, already banning imports of North Korean seafood, and saying no more North Korean workers will be allowed starting next year.

“But all nations must go further and reject what is clearly a despicable practice that only serves the regime’s nuclear ambitions,” said the NSC spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to comment.

Walmart said its supplier has addressed the problem, although it did not specify how. Walmart and ALDI said they are committed to human rights and fair labor practices, and expect the same from their business partners.

At a time when North Korea faces sanctions on many exports, the government is sending tens of thousands of workers worldwide, bringing in revenue estimated at anywhere from $200 million to $500 million a year. That could account for a sizable portion of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs, which South Korea says have cost more than $1 billion.

North Koreans overseas work in construction in the Gulf states, shipbuilding in Poland, logging in Russia. In Uruguay, authorities told AP, about 90 North Koreans crewed fishing boats last year.

“I am not surprised at all,” said Anthony Talbott, who directs the University of Dayton’s Human Rights Center. “North Korea has probably the single highest level of state-sanctioned slavery in the world, it’s a major source of income for them.”