North Korean soldiers are being given months off to scrounge around fields in a desperate bid to find food, new reports from inside the reclusive state has revealed.

Pictures have emerged which appear to show soldiers looking through a corn field was published on Daily NK, a Seoul-based website which reveals what life is truly like in North Korea.

A source from the northern Ryanggang Province told the website: 'The officers know better than anyone that they must feed their soldiers in order to maintain morale, and that rations of cornmeal with very few calories only serve to instill disillusionment among them.'

Other sources said many residents have expressed 'pity about the situation' after soldiers are spending up to three months pillaging their crops.

An image circulated by DailyNK appears to show North Korean soldiers rummaging through crop fields (circled)

It is claimed that a poor harvest, a drought and international sanctions have left the government with reduced food rations.

Another source added: 'Even though the price of rice hasn't changed much in the markets, people are especially worried that the effects of international sanctions will continue to mount and soon cause even more problems.'

In the last two months, two soldiers from the North have defected to the South. One of those who crossed the border was found to have parasitic worms in his stomach, one as long as 11 inches.

In August last year, it was reported that Pyongyang had allowed soldiers to go and steal crops from civilians.

Pyongyang frequently boasts of the power of its military. But soldiers surviving on meagre rations have resorted to carrying sacks of unripened corn in a bid to sell it at markets, according to sources in Ryanggang Province.

A source from North Hamgyong Province told the Daily NK website: 'Young soldiers tired of relentless hunger are frequently deserting the army to steal food. Even military officers are encouraging the practice.

'The military officers are instructing their soldiers, exhausted after training, to eat corn in the fields because war is imminent. They are even threatening their soldiers, saying, 'If you become malnourished despite permission to eat the corn, you will face difficulties.''

Similar images were circulated in August last year, which appear to shows desperate soldiers trying to find food