( CNN ) Well-off North Koreans really love baguettes -- and the country is dispatching citizens outside its borders to learn how to make them , says a report by a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan . According to the Choson Sinbo , a North Korean factory sent its staff abroad in an attempt to improve its food products -- which include baguettes and sweet potato cakes . No word yet on whether they 've succeeded . But it 's not the first time North Korea has sent its citizens into the world to seeking culinary skills . Last April , officials from the reclusive authoritarian state traveled to the National Dairy Industry College in Franche-Comte , eastern France , in an attempt to master the art of cheese making . But they were turned away at the door . `` There is no basis to go further with North Korea because such a partnership does not fit into our priorities and strategy , '' its director Veronique Drouet told AFP . North Korea 's Kumkop food plant is n't just focused on French food , though . In January , North Korea 's Central News Agency ( KCNA ) said Kim Jong Un toured the factory and asked it to produce chewing gum . Food security remains poor for most North Koreans . The World Food Programme reported a `` severe '' food availability situation in the country last September , with rations dipping to their lowest level in three years .
A North Korean food plant has sent staff abroad to try to learn how to prepare baguettes . Last year , North Korean farmers travel to turkey to search for cheese recipes .