North Korea encourages consumption of black swans to fight hunger

From printing coupons as alternative money to raising decorative black swans to eat, North Korea forced to innovate to deal with economic problems and Food shortage, recognized by the country’s leader, Ken Jong-unReports indicate that with the continuation of the blockade on the borders.

As the harvest period draws to a close, international monitors say the economic and food situation in North Korea is grave, and there are signs that already large Chinese humanitarian aid shipments are on the rise.

South Korea’s intelligence agency said in a closed-door parliamentary hearing on Thursday that North Korean leader It issued orders demanding that every grain of rice be secured, and all efforts aimed at the health of North Korea’s agriculture, according to South Korean lawmakers.

However, the spy agency said this crop may be better than last year due to warmer weather, and said North Korea is taking steps to reopen its borders with China and Russia in the coming months.

North Korea has long suffered from food insecurity, with international policy experts saying mismanagement of the economy has been accompanied by international sanctions imposed on the Asian country over its nuclear weapons. Moreover, natural disasters and now the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated the situation.

The North Korean leader acknowledged the “stressed” food situation, but also said the economy has improved this year. North Korea objected to a report by United Nations investigators this month that said thousands of the most vulnerable are at risk of starvation.

Officially, the country has not recorded any cases of coronavirus. UN agencies said North Korea recently started allowing aid shipments, and figures from China show a slow increase in trade.

Lack of ink and paper for currency

According to several media outlets, citing unnamed sources in North Korea, the country’s central bank is printing cash coupons worth about one dollar due to the shortage of North Korean banknotes.

Remjingang, a Japanese news website run by North Korean defectors, has reported that coupons have been circulating since at least August, in part because the paper and ink for the official currency no longer come from China.

NK News in Seoul, which said it confirmed the information, said the won banknote shortage may have been exacerbated by the government’s crackdown on the use of foreign currencies, especially the US dollar and Chinese renminbi, which were widely used before.

Reuters was unable to confirm the vouchers were used.

“delicious meat”

This week, North Korean state media promoted the consumption of black swan meat as a valuable food source and said the newly developed industrial breeding would help improve people’s lives.

“Black swan meat is delicious and has medicinal value,” the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper said on Monday (25).

Research into raising pet birds for food began in early 2019, and authorities have asked schools, factories and companies to grow food and raise fish and other animals to increase self-sufficiency, NK News reported.

“The solution aims to circumvent both the failure of large-scale agriculture to provide adequate food supplies across the country and the recent government restrictions related to Covid-19, which have blocked a lot of food and other imports since early 2020.” Colin Zwirko, reporter and analyst for NK News wrote.