Is North Korea's Kim Jong Il praising mothers around the world a sign of a sense of crisis over the declining birthrate?

While countermeasures against the declining birthrate have become an urgent issue in South Korea, North Korea's birthrate is also declining. The declining birthrate is a problem that could lead to the collapse of the regime, and North Korean leader Kim Jung Eun announced this month that
At the National Mother's Conference held on the 3rd, she pointed out the need for efforts to halt the decline in the birth rate. According to the State of World Population 2023 released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in April this year,
The total fertility rate, which indicates the number of children born to one woman, was 1.8 in North Korea, ranking 118th out of 204 countries and regions in the world. According to South Korea's Ministry of Unification, North Korea's population this year is approximately 2,616.
Ten thousand people. The Ministry of Unification predicts that North Korea's population will decline starting in 2034. Under these circumstances, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong Il attended the ``National Mother's Conference'' held in Pyongyang on the 3rd of this month.
He reportedly attended the meeting. It has been 11 years since the tournament was held. Kim Jong Il gave a speech in front of about 10,000 mothers who gathered from all over the country. “I dedicated my mind and body to the growth of my children and the wealth and strength of my homeland.
With the utmost respect, I respectfully extend my greetings to the mothers who have made such great contributions," he said, expressing his gratitude. death
Because of the strong support they provide, the ``big socialist family'' is strong.'' Furthermore, ``As society develops, the status of women increases, and the role of mothers becomes even more important in order to strengthen national power and advance the revolution.''
It's getting louder. We need to work together with all mothers to solve these problems by working together with all mothers to prevent the unsocialist problems that have been increasing recently and the decline in the birth rate."
Later, while senior officials were talking about his mother's hardships, Kim became overcome with emotion and burst into tears.
There were also scenes of people wiping themselves with handkerchiefs. In his speech, Kim also said that he thinks of his mother during difficult times. Kim Jong Il's mother is Go Yong Hee. in June 1952
I am a second-generation Korean living in Japan, born in Osaka. Her Japanese name is Takada Hime. However, according to North Korea's official opinion, he was born in Jeju-do, southern South Korea. 1962, 9 years old
At the time, he moved with his parents to Hankyeongbukto in northeastern North Korea. After that, he entered the Pyongyang University of the Arts, and around 1971 joined the North Korean song and dance troupe Mansudae Art Troupe, where he worked as a dancer.
Ta. In the mid-1970s, he became a member of the ``joy group'' organized to serve the North Korean leader and his close aides, and was admired by Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father. Mr. Jong Il's ``
became his third wife. Around 1977, she began living with Kim Jong Il and had two sons and a daughter, including Kim Jong Un. Mr. Go is said to have called Mr. Kim Jong-un ``General Venus'' when he was a child. On the other hand, Mr. Jong Il is the successor
Since around 2002, the government has been promoting the idolization of Kim Kim's biological mother, Go, as the ``respectful mother of the republic.'' However, although Ms. Ko was diagnosed with breast cancer around 1998 and continued treatment,
He passed away in 2004 at the age of 52. As mentioned above, in his speech at the ``National Mothers' Conference'' on the 3rd of this month, Kim Jong Il said that he himself remembers his mother and emphasized the importance of the role that mothers play.
. Behind his remarks, it appears that there is a sense of crisis over the declining birthrate. The South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo said, ``In the case of North Korean society, which revolves around labor-intensive industries such as agriculture, the declining birthrate directly becomes a problem for system stability.
Analyzes suggest that there may be a direct connection." The paper also pointed out that North Korea's state media has recently explicitly encouraged childbirth. According to the paper, the organ of North Korea's Korean Workers' Party,
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on the 21st of last month that, ``The mother who gave birth to the triplets will ensure all the conditions necessary for health management while using stimulants, and the state will take care of raising the children.'' However, near term
The South Korean Ministry of Unification has reported cases in which recently pregnant women suffered miscarriages after being forced to work in machine factories, and the serious human rights situation is also a contributing factor to North Korea's low birthrate.