North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the country should feed its soldiers better, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said yesterday, after the health of a North Korean soldier who defected last year highlighted nutrition problems in the isolated state.
On a visit to a military rations factory, Kim said it should produce tasty and nutritious food to “substantially contribute to improving the diet of the servicepersons,” KCNA said.
“Officials and employees of the factory should always overfulfill the production plan on all indices, bearing in mind the noble intention of leader Kim Jong-il [his father] who spared nothing for the soldiers of the People’s Army,” Kim Jong-un said.
Photo: AFP
“Make sure that they still feel his loving care,” he said.
The factory visit was the latest of a series of site inspections by Kim Jong-un, including industrial facilities and special economic zones near North Korea’s border with China, KCNA said, after the leader shifted his focus from nuclear missiles to the economy in April.
The World Bank says North Korea’s population is about 25.4 million. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense estimates 1.28 million people are on active military duty with the Korean People’s Army.
Last year, corn kernels were found in the stomach of a North Korean soldier who braved a hail of bullets to defect to South Korea, highlighting nutrition problems that experts say have plagued the isolated nation for decades.
The main issue in North Korea is a monotonous diet — mainly rice/maize, kimchi and bean paste — lacking in essential fats and protein, the World Food Programme has said.
During the factory tour, Kim Jong-un said the soldiers would need various soybean-based products for health.
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