North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sheds tears in emotional plea for more babies
NORTH Korean ruler Kim Jong Un sobbed as he urged women to have more children, claiming it was their responsibility to reverse the country's low birth rate in order to boost national power.
In what seems to be a highly choreographed emotional plea, the dictator was seen dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief while addressing thousands of women gathered at a National Mothers' Meeting in Pyongyang on Sunday, international media reported.
'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 instill the values of his communist party in their children.
Many ladies in the vast audience, who were dressed in traditional multi-colored clothing, openly wept alongside their leader.
But it wasn't all doom and gloom. The enthusiastic crowd of ladies were seen clapping and cheering Kim as he waved back from his seat, accompanied by male officials in suits and military uniforms, according to images broadcast by North Korea's state media.
The event, the first National Mothers' Meeting in 11 years, was organised in response to a drop in the isolationist state's birth rate, which has clearly alarmed top DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) authorities.
Kim addressed the crowd as "Dear Mothers," saying -
"We are confronted with a slew of social tasks that our mothers should join us in tackling."
"These include raising their children so that they will steadfastly carry forward our revolution, eliminating 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, halting the declining birth rate, and taking good care of the elderly." he was reported as saying.
He went on to say that 'in view of our mothers' position and role in their families and society', his government viewed the meeting of mothers as 'no less important than a party congress or a plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee.'
According to a report, getting a detailed idea of North Korea's population trends is extremely difficult because of the limited statistics it discloses.
The last census North Korea released was in 2008, which showed its population stood at 24 million. Estimates now suggest 25.7 million people inhabit the country.
However, South Korea's government assesses that the North's fertility rate has declined steadily for the past 10 years.
That is a concerning development for the socialist country that depends on mobilised labour to help keep its broken, heavily sanctioned economy afloat.
Kim's comments on Sunday would not be the first time the DPRK has promoted population growth, with officials within the country understood to perceive its population as being too small in relation to South Korea's 51 million people.
