North Korea is seeking to import beef that has been slaughtered due to the BSE scare in Europe. According to South Korean diplomatic sources in Seoul, North Korea’s ambassador to Austria has asked Vienna to provide them with beef from cattle slaughtered as a preventive measure against bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
It has asked Austria to provide the famine-stricken country with beef in the form of processed food from about 30,000 cattle. A similar request has been made to Germany. The move suggests authorities in the country are looking to replenish food shortages in the country, a situation primarily caused by its isolation from the world community.