Kim Jong-un urges North Korean mothers to have more children in a bid to 'strengthen national power'

Kim Jong-un has been the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011. Due to the way Kim Jong-un runs the country, the economic state of North Korea is struggling and is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, as per ABC News, but its fertility rate is similar to that of rich countries.

In his latest speech, Kim Jong-un made a rather bizarre request for all the women and mothers in the country, and it is very similar to the one Vladimir Putin delivered last week.

Kim Jong-un has urged women to have more children

As reported by Sky News, the North Korean supreme leader has requested that women and mothers of his nation have more children to 'strengthen national power'. On Sunday, December 3, Kim Jong-un attended North Korea’s first National Mothers' meeting of its kind in 11 years.

At the event, he said:

Stopping the decline in birth rates and providing good childcare and education are all our family affairs that we should solve together with our mothers.

It is difficult to know the official statistics of North Korea as very little information is handed out, however, according to South Korea's government statistics agency, North Korea’s fertility rate has decreased from 1.88 in 2014 to 1.79 in 2022.

Why is North Korea’s fertility rate so low?

There could be several reasons that have led to a decline in the number of children per household, as per ABC News, it could be due to the fact that many families in North Korea are poor and do not have the resources to support them.

Ahn Kyung-su, head of DPRKHEALTH.ORG, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea said:

Many families in North Korea also don't intend to have more than one child these days as they know they need lots of money to raise their kids, send them to school and help them get jobs.

The government is offering preferential treatment to those who have more children

According to ABC News, the government is reportedly offering benefits to those who have more children, such as preferential free housing arrangements, state subsidies, free food, medicine and household goods and educational perks for children.

It is also speculated that Kim Jong-un is bringing his daughter, Ju Ae, on more and more public appearances to encourage families to have more children, however, it is also believed that Jong-un brings his daughter to demonstrate that she is his heir.

Read more:

⋙ Kim Jong-un: The North Korean leader prepares ‘to fight a war’ with his daughter in tow

⋙ North Korea: Kim Jong-un’s rare admission of weakness

⋙ Did Kim Jong-un really execute his own uncle by feeding him to starving dogs?

Sources used:

ABC News: ‘North Korean leader calls for women to have more children to halt a fall in birthrate’

Sky News: ‘Kim Jong Un calls for women to have more children to stop declining birth rates’