The North Korean leader calls for women to have more children to halt a fall in the birthrate
apnews.com
The North Korean leader says it is a duty of women to halt a fall in the country’s birthrate.
  • PugJesus@kbin.social
    593·
    1 year ago

    Damn, all the world’s dictators seem to be getting on the same page with their misogynistic bullshit lately. Good coordination! /s

    • 👍Maximum Derek👍@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      171·
      1 year ago

      It’s long term despot thinking. The world is having a birth rate crisis, falling below replacement rate, so if they can dictate their way to a birthrate of 3+ then they’ll be able to just wait us out. Productivity is power in world economics.

      • PugJesus@kbin.social
        71·
        1 year ago

        Showing the paucity of dictators for learning from the mistakes of the past, Mao thought as much as well. Bit of a shame the crisis China found itself in because of that.

      • Echo DotEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        I thought countries like China wanted a smaller population? Now they want a bigger population I wish they’d pick something and then stick with it.

  • thisisbutaname@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    151·
    1 year ago

    Lots of countries are trying to encourage births, his approach is just a bit more… Direct. Enacting policies? Just tell people to bump uglies more!

    Also, given South Korea’s population is projected to decline sharply, having more soldiers to throw in the frontlines would be a strategic advantage in a future war.

  • Bakachu@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    To give some perspective, North Korea currently has about the same fertility rate as the US.

    Per the article, North Korea’s fertility rate is 1.79 in 2022, down from 1.88 in 2014. Meanwhile, the US has been on a slow increase with its TFR over the last few years - 1.782 in 2022 and 1.784 in 2023. Interestingly, older women are contributing to the increase over younger women.

      • Bakachu@lemmy.worldEnglish
        91·
        1 year ago

        Good point - and it’s an important distinction. Immigrants in the US usually have higher birth rates than native-born. Of course no one is allowed to emigrate from North Korea but that most likely contributes to their net decline.

      • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        Yeah it’s difficult to have kids when you and your spouse can barely afford a one bedroom apartment together, people have longer debt payoff periods now due to the skyrocketing rate of education. That needs to be taken care of before you incur the debt that a child leads to.

        Cars, housing, education have all become insanely overpriced and it’s seriously slowing down how quickly people can start families of their own.

        • Patches@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          If people waited until they’re student loans we’re paid off. A whole lot of them would be waiting till they are 60. Myself included.

  • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    I wanted three kids - my wife was done at two. It’s not like we really debated it, but I’m trying to figure out how I could have said “See honey, dear leader says we should have three, and he is of course infallible. Do it for nation’s great glory!”

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said it is a duty of women to halt a fall in the country’s births in order to strengthen national power, state media said Monday, as his government steps up the call for the people to have more children.

    “Stopping the decline in birthrates and providing good child care and education are all our family affairs that we should solve together with our mothers,” Kim said in his opening speech.

    South Korea’s fertility rate, the lowest in the developed world, is believed to be due to a potent cocktail of reasons discouraging people from having babies, including a decaying job market, a brutally competitive school environment for children, traditionally weak child care assistance and a male-centered corporate culture where many women find it impossible to combine careers and family.

    The country’s fertility rate recorded a major decline following a famine in the mid-1990s that was estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people, the Seoul-based Hyundai Research Institute said in a report in August.

    “Given North Korea lacks resources and technological advancements, it could face difficulties to revive and develop its manufacturing industry if sufficient labor forces are not provided,” the institute report said.

    Ahn, the website head, said that Kim Jong Un’s repeated public appearances with his young daughter, Ju Ae, are also likely be efforts to encourage families.

    The original article contains 630 words, the summary contains 233 words. Saved 63%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!