Kim Jong Un sheds tears as he urges women to have more babies
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New Delhi: Footage from a recent event involving North Korean leader Kim Jong Un showed him wiping tears, while talking about mothers.
Kim Jong Un thanked mothers for strengthening the nation as he called for fighting out country’s falling birth rates, NDTV reported citing news agency Reuters.
He can be seen emotionally urging women to have more children to tackle the nation’s shrinking population, which stands at about 25 million.
‘Preventing a decline in birth rates and good childcare are all of our housekeeping duties we need to handle while working with mothers,’ Kim was quoted as saying.
Thanking mothers for their contribution, the leader said ‘I too always think about mothers when I have a hard time dealing with the party and the state's work.’
The fertility rate in North Korea as of 2023, according to The United Nations Population Fund, was pegged at 1.8, marking an extended fall in rate.
North Korea's neighbours including South Korea and Japan, despite struggling with downward trend, remained higher in fertility rate.
South Korea reported a drop to a record low of 0.78 last year as Japan marked a fall to 1.26.
Amid reports of shortage of pediatricians due to falling birth rates, a city in South Korea hosted match making events to enhance birth rates.
North Korea has in recent decades suffered food shortages alongside a famine in the 1990s often from floods damaging harvests.