Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #502

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
N. Korea Is Buying Up Dogs To Supply Restaurants In Pyongyang
By Kim Yoo Jin
North Korean authorities are urgently trying to buy up dogs from several parts of the country for dog meat restau- rants in Pyongyang, Daily NK has learned.
“The authorities have ordered that officials in several areas of the coun- try, including Pakchon County, buy up dogs weighing 15 kilo- grams or larger and send them to Pyongyang,” a North Pyongan Province-based source told Daily NK yesterday.
The order direct- ed local officials to send the dogs to 36 well-known dog meat restau- rants in Pyongyang.
Local officials in Pakchon County have reportedly been ordered to supply dogs to a famous restaurant in Pyongyang’s Taesong District.
Over a period of seven days, Pakchon County officials reportedly purchased dogs weighing 15 to 18 kilograms from dog owners and have already sent a total of 720 kilo- grams worth of dogs to Pyongyang.
Local officials in the county report- edly claimed that North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un was “missing sleep at night” worrying about whether Pyongyang denizens would be able to eat and that “we [people outside of Pyongyang] need to help lessen his worries.”
“The government didn’t pay for the dogs with cash,” the source said.
“Local party offi- cials promised they would pay the dog owners with a certificate guaranteeing them rice or Chinese-made [cooking] oil by Oct. 10.”
The source added that dog owners gave their dogs to the government in exchange for rice and cooking oil “because they
thought it would be better than selling the dogs to local restaurants at low prices.”
Daily NK has also learned that dog meat restaurants outside of Pyongyang face difficulties because all the available dogs have been bought up and the price of dog meat has skyrocketed.
The issue is com- pounded by the fact that there are few people who actually raise dogs for a living.
There are com- plaints among people outside of Pyongyang about not being able to eat dog meat to “beat the heat,” the source said.
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