On October 1, 2021, a pair of black swans was seen with a cygnet in Christchurch, New Zealand. Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced a food shortage in June, and asked for people's help.
The state media reported Monday that the country was now breeding black swans for meat.
In October, a United Nations expert stated that the country was facing a food shortage.
As North Korea struggles to overcome a severe food shortage, it has begun breeding black swans for meat.
This secretive country has struggled for years to keep its food supply. However, the crisis has worsened recently after typhoons decimated crops and the country closed its borders to stop the spread of COVID-19.
On Monday, the state media stated that a new plan for breeding swans would ease the crisis.
In an article published Monday, Rodong Sinmun, the official government newspaper, stated that black swan meat has medicinal properties.
According to the newspaper Ri Jong Nam (the chief party secretary for South Hamgyong) opened a black-swan breeding centre on the country's eastern coast on October 24, according to reports.
According to the North Korea monitoring site NK News, the plan to breed swans first emerged in 2019,
The solution was meant to address both large-scale agriculture's inability to supply adequate food supplies for the entire country, and the more recent COVID-19-related restrictions by the government that have largely blocked imports from early 2020," Colin Zwirko (senior analytic correspondent at NK News) wrote about the swan project.
Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, declared a "tense food crisis" in June. He then urged North Koreans to find solutions to the "food issue" in September, NK News reported.
According to some reports, North Korea's crisis has caused the price of certain goods to rise. According to NK News, a kilogramme of bananas costs $45, which is equivalent to $45, in June.
Reuters reported that a United Nations expert stated in October that there was a food shortage.
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Although swan meat isn't readily available in the US or much of Europe, it used to be.
According to contemporary records, swan meat was acceptable in France during the 1300s, England during the Victorian era and North America in the 18th century.
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