NORTH KOREA ADVISES CITIZENS TO EAT DOG MEAT TO BEAT THE SUMMER HEAT. (PHOTO).

 Kim Jong Un tells North Koreans to 'turn their dogs into soup' during deadly heatwave

North Koreans have been urged to eat dog soup as the country struggles to manage a brutal heatwave.

A state newspaper in the country published an interview with one of the nation's top doctors that encouraged citizens to start making the highly controversial soup dish.

Translated as "sweet meat soup", the article published in Rodong Sinmun describes the dish as offering North Koreans a "highly nutritious" food option that can help counter the symptoms of heat stroke, such as "cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism", according to the South China Morning Post.

It has also long been believed to cause increased virility in men, as well as boosting immune systems.

North Korea's capital city Pyongyang has its own dog meat restaurant that specialises in dangogi guk, with Kim Jong Un known to be a big fan, serving the dish at dinner parties and state events.

The advise comes as the Korean peninsula faces its worst heatwave for more than a century, with both North and South seeing record breaking temperatures scorch farmland and fill hospitals.