Correspondence
Email sent to the contact address for Nicherei Seafoods.
The email said that The Outlaw Ocean Project had uncovered evidence of Dandong Yuanyi using North Korean labor after the Dec 2019 deadline for the repatriation of North Korean workers under UN Security Council resolution; Nichirei has imported over a dozen shipments of seafood from Yuanyi since 2020. The email asked the company to comment.
Nichirei Seafoods replied by email, saying: "Before we heard from you, we had received written representations from the vendor that should have excluded the possibility you’ve indicated. But whatever the truth is, we want to know it. Can you please share your evidence with us? Based on your organization’s prior reporting and what you’ve now told us, we’ve paused some of our operations pending further investigation. If you are not inclined to share your evidence with us, could you please tell us when you expect to publish your findings, so that we can factor them into some decisions that we would like to make this week?"
The Outlaw Ocean Project emailed further information to Nicherei Seafoods about the evidence linking North Korean labor to Dandong Yuanyi, and asked Nichirei to clarify what kind of written represenations it has received from the supplier regarding forced labor issues.
Nichirei emailed a statement: “We have robust controls to ensure compliance with our responsible sourcing policies, which prioritize respect for the human rights of individuals throughout our supply chain and require compliance with all applicable local laws and global treaties, and we do not tolerate any behavior that conflicts with our policies or applicable laws. When we were informed of the allegations, we took immediate action, including proactively launching an on-site supplier audit and notifying our distributors and the relevant U.S. agencies. Although we have not found any evidence in our ongoing investigation to corroborate the allegations, we have halted deliveries and canceled future orders from the supplier in the U.S., and we will continue to review information and take action as appropriate.”
The Outlaw Ocean Project replied, asking if Nichirei Seafoods could disclose if Dandong Yuanyi underwent self-assessment or submitted to audit.
Nichirei replied, saying that the supplier completed both self-assessments and audits that showed full compliance with our policies.