North Koreans are being urged to eat dog soup as the country struggles to manage a brutal heatwave.
A state newspaper in the highly secretive country published an interview with one of the nation's top doctors that encouraged citizens to start making the highly controversial soup dish.
State media promotes 'sweet meat soup'
Translated as "sweet meat soup", the article published in Rodong Sinmun describes the dish as offering North Koreans a 'highly nutritious' food option that can help counter the symptoms of heat stroke, such as "cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism", according to the South China Morning Post.
It has also long been believed to cause increased virility in men, as well as boosting immune systems.
Kim's favorite dish
North Korea's capital city Pyongyang has its own dog meat restaurant that specialises in dangogi guk, with Kim Jong Un known to be a big fan, serving the dish at dinner parties and state events.
According to one online recipe, the dish, which is set to be banned in South Korea, is made using dog meat along with a mix of vegetables and herbs, including leeks, onions, perilla leaves, taro stalks and red pepper. Also known as Bosin tang, some recipes also feature things like dandelion and mint.
How the dish is prepared
The meat is first boiled with a premade gravy and the taro stalk, which is a Korean plant similar to okra or a more bitter celery. It is then boiled again with all the other vegetables and herbs, before being sprinkled with pepper and served warm.
Descriptions of dog meat often compare it to richer, more gamey meats such as mutton or goat.
Record-breaking heatwave
The advice comes as the Korean peninsula faces its worst heatwave for more than a century, with both North and South seeing record-breaking temperatures scorch farmland and fill hospitals.
South Korea recorded its hottest day for more than 100 years on Sunday, with the Celsius reading 42.5 in the city of Yangsan.
Across the border, North Korea is believed to have been hit by multiple 40C days, with the usual mild Pyongyang being described as tropical by local reports.
