Officials in North Korea are buying large dogs from across the country so its meat can be used for restaurants in the capital on orders by Kim Jong-un.
The dictator is said to have demanded the dogs were snapped up from owners living in Pakchon County so people in Pyongyang are "able to eat".
According to Daily NK, officials claim Kim was "missing sleep at night" fearing that supplies of dog meat were drying up for well-known restaurants.
Dogs weighing 15 kilograms or more have been brought from their owners in the southern county and supplied to 36 eateries including a famous restaurant in Pyongyang’s Taesong District.
A North Pyongan Province-based source told Daily NK: "The authorities have ordered that officials in several areas of the country, including Pakchon County, buy up dogs weighing 15 kilograms or larger and send them to Pyongyang."
Pakchon County officials have already sent a total of 720 kilograms worth of dog meat to Pyongyang.
However according to the source,m the dog owners weren't paid with cash but given rice and cooking oil inside because it worked out as a better deal for them then if they sold directly to restaurants.
They said: “The government didn’t pay for the dogs with cash.
“Local party officials promised they would pay the dog owners with a certificate guaranteeing them rice or Chinese-made [cooking] oil by October 10.”
Daily NK claims dog meat restaurants outside of Pyongyang face difficulties because all the available dogs have been bought up so the price of its meat has skyrocketed.
The increased price is also a result of few people who raise dogs for the meat market.
This has resulted in dog meat eaters outside of Pyongyang complaining that a lack of supply has left hem unable to "eat to beat the heat", the source added.
