Pyongyang’s Heat-Wave Menu Has People Talking

North Korea’s state media paired heat-health advice with old propaganda themes, telling citizens to use cooling foods and first-aid steps as temperatures surged.

Quick Take

Rodong Sinmun published heat-health guidance on August 2, including advice from a doctor at Pyongyang General Hospital.
The paper recommended watermelon, cucumbers, mung beans, fish porridge, red-bean porridge, and dog-meat soup.
North Korean broadcasts also framed the heat as a national problem and urged people to protect themselves and crops.
Outside reporting shows the same media stream still mixes public-health messaging with regime imagery and political theater.

State Media Pushes Heat Advice

North Korea’s ruling-party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published a health feature on August 2 that gave direct advice for extreme heat. Reuters reported that the paper quoted a doctor at Pyongyang General Hospital and recommended cooling foods such as watermelon, cucumbers, and mung beans. It also listed “nutritious foods” including dog-meat soup, fish porridge, and red-bean porridge as ways to cope with the weather.

The guidance was not limited to food. NK PRO reported that state television ran alerts through special programs, weather reports, and on-screen captions throughout the day. Its report said printed media also carried near-daily calls to guard against the heat. That matters because it shows the state was treating the weather as a public issue, even while keeping tight control over how the message was framed.

Heat Warnings Came With Mobilization Language

North Korean media has long used extreme weather to push both safety and obedience. In earlier coverage, Rodong Sinmun described severe heat as an “unprecedented natural disaster” and urged people to “join the struggle” to protect harvests. Reuters also reported calls to use “all resources” against dry conditions. That pattern shows the regime’s habit of blending practical warnings with language meant to mobilize the public.

The latest coverage follows that same model. Reuters said state media paired the health advice with a familiar propaganda theme about Kim Jong Un enduring harsh weather alongside ordinary citizens. CNN likewise noted that North Korea was showing beach crowds and other scenes of relief while revealing far less about the impact of the heat. The result is a message that is partly health advice and partly image management.

Officials Described Real Emergency Steps

The reports also point to concrete response measures, not just slogans. The Climate Centre said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Red Cross informed its country office of a developing emergency and was deploying 20 mobile water pumps for emergency irrigation. Reuters previously reported repairs to irrigation equipment and work on new wells and reservoirs. Those steps suggest the heat was serious enough to trigger material action, especially in a country where crop losses can quickly become food losses.

Still, the public record leaves important gaps. NK PRO said no news outlet reported heat-related casualties, but that is not the same as proof that no one was hurt. None of the supplied sources included casualty counts, hospital data, or an official health bulletin. So the reporting shows a real warning campaign, but it does not show how many people followed the advice or whether it made a measurable difference.

Dog Soup Became the Headline, But It Was Not the Whole Story

The dog-meat recommendation got the most attention because it is unusual to outside readers, but the sources present it as part of a broader summer food tradition. Reuters said the paper described dog-meat soup as a traditional summertime food and repeated an old saying that it can be “medicine” during the hottest days. ChosunBiz reported that the hospital interview also warned that cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism can worsen in extreme heat.

Due to heat wave in North Korea:
Kim propaganda recommends dog meat soup+++

Pyongyang: – More than 40 percent of the 26 million North Koreans suffer from hunger, because food shortages and malnutrition are part of the harassment that the Kim dictatorship applies against its own… pic.twitter.com/asI2f7hQek

— LiberlandPress (@PressLiberland) August 11, 2026

That said, the advice should be read carefully. The sources do not provide clinical proof that dog-meat soup is required or better than other heat precautions. They also do not show whether ordinary North Koreans can easily follow the guidance, given sanctions, resource shortages, and the regime’s tight control over information. What the reporting does show is a state trying to turn a heat wave into both a public-health message and a political display.