THE nation’s citizens have been told by the government to collect 10kg of human waste per household to fertilise crops.
It is not the order that has raised a stink, but the timing of it – collecting and drying human faeces in the hotter weather during summer would increase the intensity of the odours.
Usually such directives are made during winter, ahead of planting season in spring, when residents in the impoverished country collect human excrement for agricultural purpose.
But US-funded news agency Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a summer collection was announced recently, as part of leader Kim Jong-un’s economic plan to prioritise agriculture.
This order comes as North Korea sent hundreds of balloons filled with garbage and excrement to South Korea since late May, in retaliation against South Korean activists who send inflatables filled with anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the heavily fortified border.
Seoul has denounced the North’s actions, calling such acts “dangerous”.
The North’s latest directive perplexed locals, as it meant they would have to dry the faeces in their yards or gardens, where odours would be stronger in the hot weather and attract pests.
“The neighbourhood watch unit held a residents’ meeting and issued an order from the party for dry human waste and donate it for collection,” an unnamed North Korean resident told RFA.
“Residents could not hide their bewilderment at the order... in the hot weather.”
Those who manage to collect their required amount have to deliver the loot to a nearby fertiliser factory, where they will receive a certificate.
Those who want out from the assignment have to cough up NK$5,000 won (RM174), a princely sum for ordinary North Koreans.The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts had warned that border closures during the pandemic have worsened food security in the country.
North Korea’s crop output was estimated to have increased year on year in 2023, due to favourable weather conditions, according to a South Korean official but it was still far below what is needed to address the chronic food shortages. — The Straits Times/ANN
