Fishery association denies claims of connection to Dandong-NK middlemen

The China Distant Water Fisheries Association told the Global Times Wednesday there is no connection between it and agencies in Dandong, Liaoning Province, who broker deals between Chinese fisherman and North Korea.

"The association, which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, will not partner with those random companies," said an association official, who declined to be identified.

The response came after the ministry denied a report by the Beijing Times on Tuesday that the association has some contact with those agencies.

The association, set up by several fishery corporations and institutions, will come to the aid of fishermen who have incidents in foreign waters.

These agencies, to which fishermen were asked by North Korea to pay money, were said to have a special relationship with the North's military that can provide protection, reported the newspaper. It added that those companies benefit from the negotiation with the North and are permitted by the association.

As many as 44 Chinese fishermen have been held by North Korea since May last year when fishing in the sea area between 123.53 and 124.00 degrees east longitude, which is claimed to belong to China by fishermen.

The ministry also refuted the report by saying that the area, where North Korea has held several Chinese boats, is not covered by a contract inked between North Korea and the Chinese association in April 2010.

The association official told the Global Times that the sea area mentioned in the bilateral contract only covers distant waters, not coastal waters where the detentions happened.

"The maritime border for fishing has never been clearly drawn," Lü Chao, director of the North and South Korea Research Center at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, adding that the sea area west of 124.00 degrees has been the conventional fishing pool for China. "But North Korea has broken the rule in recent years and more detention cases are seen," he added.