A North Korean government mouthpiece has claimed Kim Jong-il created burritos in 2011. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the father of curr...
A North Korean government mouthpiece has claimed Kim Jong-il created burritos in 2011.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the father of current leader Kim Jong-un invented the 'wheat wrap' and claimed their sales are booming despite a food shortage.
The street food also made an appearance in a recent propaganda broadcast, saying Kim Jong-un has a 'meticulous interest' in the Mexican dish.
A North Korean government mouthpiece has claimed Kim Jong-il created burritos in 2011 and their sales are now booming. Pictured: a woman buying the 'wheat wraps' in Pyongyang
In newsreel footage, North Koreans can be seen devouring the burritos at a stand outside the Kumsong Food Factory in Pyongyang.
The broadcast also showed a mural of Kim Jong-il grinning in a kitchen where burritos were being prepared.
But North Koreans who have escaped the secretive state insist such dishes are virtually non-existent there.
The food shortage has left people 'at risk of starvation' according to a UN human rights expert, with Kim warning it could last until 2025.
Hyun-seung Lee, who was born into an elite North Korean family but fled the country in 2014, said most of his countrymen couldn't even dream of eating a burrito.
State broadcast showed a mural of Kim Jong-il grinning in a kitchen where burritos were being prepared (pictured)
The street food made an appearance in a recent propaganda broadcast, saying Kim Jong-un has a 'meticulous interest' in the Mexican dish
'This is because they are not even given an opportunity to encounter it,' he said.
'The majority of citizens do not have money to buy the foreign food. Even if they have money, there is no place to eat it.
'In the 1990s, bread and butter lovers were satirised and criticised as socialist traitors.'
In many cases, he added, there simply weren't the ingredients to recreate foreign foods.
'I have never seen any burritos or wraps on sale in North Korea,' he said.
'Perhaps there were no restaurants where you can eat burritos and wraps until now.
'The penetration rate of Western food in North Korea is extremely low, because there are very few restaurants where you can eat it and the food ingredients are not diverse
In newsreel footage, North Koreans can be seen devouring the burritos at a stand outside the Kumsong Food Factory in Pyongyang
North Koreans who have escaped the secretive state insist such dishes are virtually non-existent there
A food shortage has left people 'at risk of starvation' according to a UN human rights expert, with Kim warning it could last until 2025
'Various cooking ingredients such as milk, cheese, and spices are absolutely lacking.'
The North Korean version appears different to its Western version, using doner meat with cabbage and carrot.
Kim Jong-il advised that the 'wheat wraps' are best accompanied by mineral water in the summer and hot tea in the winter, the Rodong Sinmun added.
Rowan Beard, a guide with Young Pioneer Tours – which specialises in organising North Korea trips – said he had not encountered the dish in Pyongyang.
North Korea's borders have been shut to foreign visitors since January 2020 to protect against coronavirus.
'It's the first time for me to see doner meat and those particular grilling machines in North Korea,' said Mr Beard.
'I've never had a burrito or a wrap there before. It looks pretty good! I will certainly give that a chance once North Korea reopens for tourists.'
He said he had found western food 'fairly common' within Pyongyang, but agreed it was uncommon elsewhere.
'Spaghetti, french fries or a hamburger can be found on certain menus at restaurants sprawled around the capital,' he said.
'However, not so much outside of Pyongyang.'
Mr Lee now lives in the US and recounts his 29 years in North Korea on the Pyonghattan YouTube channel, alongside his sister and fellow defector, Seohyun.
He said hamburgers and pizza had only emerged in 'fancy restaurants' in Pyongyang in the past 10 years.
Before then, he said, the only foreign foods he had tasted were Japanese: sushi and sashimi.
'North Korea has long been refusing to accept foreign goods and culture,' he said. 'Foreign food is no exception.'
The exact provenance of the modern burrito is unclear, however the word burrito appears in an 1895 Mexican dictionary, where it is described as a foodstuff.
Away from propaganda, food shortages remain a big problem for North Korea, with Kim Jong-un himself acknowledging last June that the situation was 'tense'.
Kim in October told his citizens that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its border with China in 2025.
The government has blamed external factors for their food shortages, citing sanctions imposed on them, natural disasters and the global coronavirus pandemic.
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