North Korea Kim Jong Un's order to gather pet dogs sparks concern animals will become food source

North Korean residents say leader Kim Jong Un's directive in July to collect all the pet dogs in the capital city of  Pyongyang because they represented Western "decadence" was in reality an attempt to create a food source in the struggling nation.

"Authorities have identified households with pet dogs and are forcing them to give them up or forcefully confiscating them and putting them down," according to Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean outlet. 

The source for the article claimed the the domestic animals were being sent to state-run zoos and sold to restaurants that serve dog meat. 

The rogue nation is facing economic challenges in large part because of the sanctions imposed on it for violating agreements related to its nuclear weapon program.

The confiscated pets mostly come from the elite classes of Pyongyang, which include high-ranking regime officials. Lower class North Koreans raise farm animals around their living areas, but the elite of the North are known to have small lapdogs as family pets.