North Korea was found to have sold fishing rights in the East Sea to China.

A source from the South Korean intelligence agency said Thursday that the North is confirmed to have sold its fishing rights in the East Sea to China, in addition to the Yellow Sea, to earn foreign currency.

The source added that North Korea appears to have recently sold the fishing rights in the northern side of the Northern Limit Line(NLL), the de facto inter-Korean maritime border.

It had been known that the North sold the fishing rights above the NLL in the Yellow Sea, but it is the first time such a move has been reported in the East Sea.

The source pointed out that it contradicts a policy by leader Kim Jong-un to encourage more fishing by local fishermen, adding these fishing license sales rake in about 75 million dollars annually for Kim.

The source said Pyongyang has allowed Chinese fishing in North Korean waters since the two allies signed a joint fishing deal in 2004, which excluded areas near the NLL, and that around two-thousand-500 Chinese fishing boats are operating in the region every year.