New rumors surface of famine-induced cannibalism in North Korea

North Koreans may be turning to cannibalism for survival as serious food shortages continue to wrack the infamously oppressive Asian nation, some new reports suggest.

The Sunday Times wrote that a DPRK father was allegedly put to death by firing squad, after it was discovered that he had killed and eaten two of his own children last year — during the 2012 famine, which may have killed thousands.

Read more from GlobalPost: North Korea isn't alone: 6 infamous cases of cannibalism

The Times added that citizen journalists within North Korea, employed by the AsiaPress, suspect at least 10,000 perished from starvation in provinces south of Pyongyang last year.

“While his wife was away on business he killed his eldest daughter and because his son saw what he had done, he killed his son as well," an informant told AsiaPress.

"When the wife came home he offered her food, saying ‘We have meat.’ But his wife, suspicious, notified the ministry of public security, which led to the discovery of part of their children’s bodies under the eaves.”

Read more from GlobalPost: Cannibalism in North Korea

The Telegraph writes that North Korea hasn't confirmed or denied any of these deaths, a not particularly surprising development.

The Yonhap News Agency reported in 2012 that North Korea had thus far executed three of its citizens in recent years, claiming they had resorted to cannibalism.

Rumors persist among defectors that during the desperate famine years of the 1990s, North Koreans bought and sold human flesh to their starving countrymen — a practice that may have continued during the ill-fated 2009 attempt to overhaul North Korea's currency.