Radio Free Asia reported that citizens in North Korea are being asked to pay for candy ingredients as the country rushes to make sweets in time for dictator Kim Jong Un's birthday.
One source from North Pyongan Province told RFA that officials in some areas imposed a tax on each household so they could buy raw ingredients for their governments.
The source said that families in some regions have been asked to donate an egg to the candy-making effort, resulting in egg shortages in markets.
A source told RFA that North Koreans are not happy about being asked to chip in.
The residents are angry that the authorities are making candy for children at a time when people are not working and people are not traveling.
The outlet reported that each province is responsible for producing and distributing sweets.
The "birthday candy" tradition dates back to the rule of the first dictator of the regime, Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994, according to DailyNK. Children receive candy on Kim Il Sung's birthday and Kim Jong Il's birthday. There is a dispute about when Kim's birthday is.
The country faces a devastating food crisis that even Kim admitted is "tense", as families started selling the gifts they received for Kim's birthday.
