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In late 2017, the UN Security Council passed sanctions on North Korea that made all international fishing inside its borders a violation of international law. A new study has now revealed that China has broken the terms of the sanctions on hundreds of occasions. In 2017, 900 Chinese fishing vessels operated in North Korea and in 2018, another 700 vessels did so. Researchers discovered this after evaluating satellite imagery of North Korean waters. The researchers also found that, as China has more technologically advanced vessels, North Korean fishermen are forced to make long and difficult journies to Russian waters to make a living.
One interesting aspect of this situation is that China is one of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council. This means that they have veto power and can prevent sanctions from being imposed on countries, including their own. Therefore, China would have been aware of the sanctions when they defied them. Also, China voted for the sanctions to be imposed on North Korea. Thus, it should follow that they'd want to uphold the terms of the sanctions. Yet, they have not done so.