North Korean maximum ruler, Kim Jong Un, cried as he called on women to have more children, saying that it was their duty to halt the country’s declining birth rate in order to strengthen national power
In his seemingly highly choreographed emotional plea, the authoritarian leader was seen dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief while addressing thousands of women gathered at a National Mothers’ Meeting in Pyongyang on Sunday.
‘Preventing a decline in birth rates and good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers,’ Kim said at the event, while also urging them to instil the values of his communist party in their children.
Many in the large audience – made up of women dressed in traditional multi-coloured garments – openly wept along with their leader.
All the same, it wasn’t all a sombre affair. Pictures released by North Korea’s state media also showed the adoring crowd clapping and cheering Kim as he waved back from his seat, flanked by male officials in suits and military uniform.
The event – the first National Mothers’ Meeting in 11 years – was put on amid a fall in the isolationist state’s birth rate, which has evidently prompted concern among the DPRK’s (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) top officials.
Describing the audience as ‘Dear Mothers’, Kim told them ‘we are confronted with a host of social tasks that our mothers should join to tackle’.
‘These tasks,’ he said, ‘include bringing up their children so that they will steadfastly carry forward our revolution, eliminating the recently-increasing non-socialist practices, promoting family harmony and social unity, establishing a sound way of cultural and moral life, making the communist virtues and traits of helping and leading one another forward prevail over our society, stopping the declining birth rate, and taking good care of children and educating them effectively.
‘These belong to our common family affairs, which we need to deal with by joining hands with our mothers,’ he added.
Photo, video: Korean Central Television, Mail Online