China subcontracting fishery product processing to N. Korea

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- Fishery product processing companies in the Chinese border city of Hunchun are contracting their work out to North Korea as business is booming, a U.S. broadcaster reported Friday.

Processing companies in Hunchun are bringing their fishery products back after processing them in the North in an effort to curtail production costs by making use of the cheap labor there, Voice of America said.

Processing business in the city bordering the North and Russia made great strides last year, with the number of companies doing it reaching some 60, according to the broadcaster.

The North's fishery exports to China stood at US$170 million during the first 11 months last year, which was up 75 percent on-year and 4th-largest among the North's top export items, the broadcaster said.

Of the fishery exports, mollusks like clams and squids were at the top, followed by crustaceans such as crabs.

Cash-strapped North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently called for the increase of the production of fishery products, which are excluded from the U.N. sanctions against the North's nuclear and missile tests, the broadcaster said.
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