Human flesh sold in North Korean markets

<> Caution: Not for the faint-hearted <>
Due to severe famines, human flesh is reportedly being sold on the black market in North Korea. Starvation in North Korea appears to have reached a point where people are abandoning their humanity.

While meat is a luxury for North Koreans, on the black farmer's market, live pigs, goats, chickens and rabbits can be found. Sometimes, pork and mutton are also available. All such meats are expensive. Only privileged people such as local executives of the governing Labour Party and high-ranking military officials, or smugglers who make money from trade with China, can afford them.

In some corners of the black market, pieces of “special meat” are displayed on straw mats for sale. People know where they came from, however, they do not speak about it. One North Korean refugee said: "Oil from animal meat coagulates and becomes round in shape, however, that of human flesh coagulates and takes the shape of a diamond."

The sale of human flesh is expanding beyond the granary regions. The same witness said,
"If a funeral takes place during the day and the burial is performed that evening, the grave may be dug open and the body stolen before morning. Such incidents happen often. The stolen body is cut into pieces and sold on the black market. This is why people conduct funerals in the evening and bury the dead bodies at midnight. Thus people cannot steal the bodies during the day because other people are watching. Also, the dead bodies lose freshness over night, which makes it difficult to market them."