Kim Jong-un has demanded all pet dogs in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang be confiscated because they represent Western “decadence”, according to reports.
The despot is said to have made the order in July because he’s convinced they are a “tainted trend by bourgeoius ideology”, according to information made available to The MIRROR.
The article published by The MIRROR went further to say a source told the English edition of the South Korean newspaper: “Ordinary people raise pigs and livestock on their porches, but high-ranking officials and the wealthy own pet dogs, which stoked some resentment [among the lower classes].
“Authorities have identified households with pet dogs and are forcing them to give them up or forcefully confiscating them and putting them down.”
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And despite the dictator’s claims the decision is to crackdown on capitalist extravagance, there are concerns it is a way of relieving the country’s food shortage.
Reports in 2018 said the eating of dog meat was on the up in North Korea over the summer.
Some of the pets are understood to be being sent to state-run zoos and some sold to dog meat restaurants.
Dog ownership has never been wholeheartedly supported by those in charge in North Korea but attitudes mellowed after it played host to the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1989.
Since then the capital’s elite have been raising lapdogs as a show of their superior status.