Kim Jong Un was left in tears as he issued a desperate plea to women in North Korea.
The North Korean dictator told them it was their duty to halt the country’s ailing birth rate in a bid to strengthen national power.
Kim Jong Un in tears as he issues a desperate plea
Pool
He was spotted dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief as he addressed thousands of women gathered at a National Mothers Meeting in Pyongyang on Sunday.
The emotional plea appeared highly choreographed and was met with an outpouring of affection from the thousands of women in attendance.
“Preventing a decline in birth rates and good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers”, said Kim.
Many of the women present were dressed in traditional multi-coloured outfits while they openly broke down.
The isolationist state’s declining birth rate prompted the event with the DPRK seemingly concerned about the trend.
The last census North Korea released was in 2008, with its population stood at 24 million.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
REUTERSEstimates now suggest it to be around 25.7 million, but limited data makes such analysis difficult.
South Korea’s government believes the state’s fertility rate has declined steadily in the past decade.
With the country heavily dependent on mobilised labour, its authoritarian leader is likely worried about what this development entails.
A post-war growth in population saw North Korea implementing birth control programmes in the 1970s-80s.
A famine in the 1990s prompted a decline in the country’s fertility rate.
According to North Korean state media reports this year, the country has introduced benefits for families with three or more children.
Such benefits include preferential free housing arrangements, state subsidies, free food, medicine and household goods.
The Hyundai Institute produced a report saying North Korea’s population is expected to shrink further.
