Switzerland will reportedly offer beef from cow slaughtered for fear of mad cow disease ... to North Korea.

A diplomatic source in Geneva said Wednesday that the Swiss government has decided to provide five hundred tons of the beef to foreign countries and most of it will likely be sent to North Korea.

At a news conference, Swiss Economy Minister Pascal Couchepin said his government has earmarked more than four million U.S. dollars in budget for shipment of the beef.

Switzerland has reported more than three hundred cases of mad cow disease since 1990 when the Swiss government banned feeding ground cow bone products to livestock.