Reports of cannibalism arise amid famine in North Korea

According to a report in the Sunday Times, a father in North Korea has been executed after eating one of his children amid a “hidden famine” in the country that has already claimed the lives of 10,000 people.

The report cites an incident where a grandfather dug up his grandchild’s corpse to eat it, and another incident where a father boiled his child and ate the flesh.

It’s unclear whether the report in the Sunday Times is true, as it is based on other reports collected by a service called Asia Press, a Japanese-based citizen journalist organization.

The report does seem crazy, but the Sunday Times stands by the story and writes that the reports have been deemed “credible.”

The report comes as the UN has voted to place even tighter sanctions on North Korea after a the country launched a rocket in December — a move that was widely condemned by the international community as seen as an illegal test of long-range missiles.

Never one to back down from a challenge, North Korea said the December launch was just part of its space program. It then responded to last week’s UN resolution by saying that it would continue to test both long-range rockets and nuclear weapons, with the target being the U.S.

While the ever-secretive North Korea doesn’t allow foreign media to confirm the reports, a famine is likely after a tropical cyclone that hit the country over the summer.