KCNA/via Reuters
North Korea has ordered its armed forces to hold a day of appreciation for the country’s soldiers, complete with a feast of dog meat believed to boost their stamina, with military officials made to foot the bill, sources in the military told RFA.
With the country’s economy faltering under the combined weight of years of international nuclear sanctions and a near-complete suspension of imports due to the coronavirus pandemic, military units in North Korea are underequipped and poorly fed.
Even before the pandemic it was not uncommon for soldiers in rural areas to spend much of the year working on farms to grow corn, rice, and other staples to feed their units.