North Korea Celebrates Triplets Amid Birth Rate Crisis
Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in China via email with a request for comment.
The North Korean authorities don't regularly publish population figures. United Nations estimates based on records released in past decades put the country's fertility rate at 1.78 births per woman last year-below the 2.1 threshold needed to sustain a population.
This is higher than fertility rates of South Korea, Japan, and China, which are already scrambling to adapt to their aging populations. However, international sanctions over the Kim Jong Un regime's nuclear weapons program have deprived the country of 26 million of many types of advanced automated machinery and left it more reliant on manual labor than its East Asian neighbors.
The three boys were born in February to Kim Hyang Mi, a resident of Tokchon City, whose husband, Kim Nam Il, works at a local coal mine, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
After learning she was pregnant with triplets, Kim was transferred to Pyongyang Maternity Hospital, where she reportedly received the best care available.
The weight of one of the newborns was only 1.18 kg (4 pounds)-a cause for concern. All three now weigh over 4 kg (8.8 pounds) and are considered healthy, according to the report. They were discharged from the hospital on Monday.
The extent of medical attention given to Kim and the triplets signals the seriousness with which the authorities are taking the declining birthrate.
The announcement follows a September report by Radio Free Asia that authorities had punished doctors for performing secret abortions and cracked down on marketplace vendors selling contraceptives.
While the government has in recent years made some efforts to improve the health of its youngest citizens-such as mandating free dairy products-human rights groups citing local sources have detailed harsh punishments meted out to children, including lengthy prison camp terms for offenses committed by family members.
On Saturday, the regime published images of a celebratory event marking International Children's Day, which critics saw as an attempt to whitewash its image amid international condemnation over its human rights record.
Young-Jin Choi, a professor at South Korea's Yonsei University, wrote in a Marchreport for North Korea-focused outlet 38 North: "North Korea is expected to enter into an aging society, with more than 14 percent of its population being 65 or older by 2025.
"If these trends continue, North Korea will likely face a vicious cycle in which the low birth rate and an aging population will cause a further decline in economic vitality, which in turn will further aggravate the low birth rate and aging population problems."
This trend is also likely to worry Kim as his military, the fourth-largest in the world, with roughly 30 percent of the population serving in active or reserve roles, amid ongoing tensions with the U.S.-allied South.
Related Articles
US Allies Stage War Games Near ChinaNorth Korean Soldiers Praised by Russia for Fighting UkraineRussia's Reward to North Korea for Troops RevealedNorth Korea Blasts US 'Arrogance' Over Golden Dome Plans
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
North Korea's Insta-Fail: Cringe-Worthy Propaganda
A flood of propaganda videos targeting American users has hit Instagram and X over the past year, many featuring stiff dialogue, clumsy editing, and bizarre rhetorical questions that attempt — and often fail — to portray North Korea as a thriving, free society. One of the more prominent accounts in this wave is @MoveToNorthKorea, a mysterious Instagram page that posts upbeat propaganda targeting English-speaking audiences. It is unclear whether the account is state-run, operated by a private contractor, or simply run by a sympathizer. The effect, however, is the same: a stream of overly rosy portrayals of life inside one of the world's most repressive regimes. The propaganda clips tend to follow a pattern. Many are scored to Hundred Miles by Yall featuring Gabriela Richardson and begin with a rhetorical question starting with 'Who said…' The videos are often narrated in broken English by an AI voice that occasionally refers to North Koreans not by nationality but as 'esteemed citizens of the DPRK.' The editing is rudimentary, and the messaging leans on crude reversals of common criticisms — often to surreal effect. Here are four recent examples that highlight just how far some of these efforts miss the mark: 'Action!': The Dinner Scene That Spoils Itself In one widely shared clip, a girl named Zin-Mai sits down for dinner with a man implied to be her father. The premise is simple — a wholesome family meal — but the guise is subverted in the first second when someone audibly shouts a word translated as 'Action!' revealing the scene to be staged. The father's dialogue is stilted and repetitive, as he aggressively insists they have plenty of food and repeatedly urges his daughter to eat more soup and kimchi. The pacing and conversation do not suggest that dialogue is spontaneous. However, North Korea is not alone in staging dining scenes. It's not just North Korean propagandists who stage mealtime settings to shape public perception. During the 2024 campaign, then-Vice President Kamala Harris was criticized for allegedly clearing out diners from a Pittsburgh restaurant so that campaign staff and supporters could pose as patrons during a campaign stop, as reported by the Daily Mail. Google? Maybe — If You Don't Touch the Keyboard 'Who says Google doesn't work in North Korea?' asks another clip, as a man sits at a desktop computer with Google's homepage open. Yet at no point does he type anything, click a link, or interact with the browser. He merely stares at the screen. No attempt is made to demonstrate actual use of Google or internet access. Instead, the scene appears constructed solely to suggest a normalcy that contradicts what human rights experts have long confirmed: the vast majority of North Koreans lack access to the global internet. North Korea's intranet system, called Kwangmyong, offers only limited, state-approved content, and real internet use is typically restricted to a tiny ruling elite and tightly controlled government entities. A 'Fair Trial' in the Hostage Confession Room 'Who said North Korea doesn't have a fair judicial system?' another video asks, before cutting to footage of a crying man in what appears to be a press conference, flanked by guards. A reverse image search identifies this man as Kim Tong Chol — a South Korean-American preacher reportedly imprisoned in North Korea on espionage charges — speaking inside a wood-paneled room infamous for its use in forced public confessions. Chol's name is sometimes spelled as Kim Dong Chul, depending on the news outlet. This appears to be the same setting where Otto Warmbier, another detained American, was paraded before cameras in 2016. Warmbier died soon after being returned to the United States in a vegetative state. Chul was released in 2018. He has kept a low profile since returning to the United States. 'I Have… Always Exciting!' 'Who said North Koreans don't speak English?' This clip opens with a young man struggling to form a sentence. After a long pause, he declares, 'I have… I am … always exciting!' A young woman follows, more fluent, and says she studies at Kim Il Sung University — but when asked about her major, she appears confused and unable to answer. The clip then ends before the woman names a major. Behind these awkward social media posts lies a country where information is tightly controlled and dissent is met with brutality. According to Human Rights Watch, North Korea continues to its own citizens in labor camps, restrict movement, ban free expression, and enforce loyalty to the ruling Kim dynasty through surveillance and repression. A 2021 United Nations report found that more than 40% of the population suffers from food insecurity. The Korean Peninsula was split after World War II, with the U.S. supporting the South and the Soviet Union backing the North. After a bloody civil war in the 1950s, the North remained under communist rule. Over decades, the Kim regime has relied on isolation, propaganda, and militarism to hold power, while neighboring South Korea has embraced a more Western-style government and economic growth. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, North Korea's state media strategy has undergone significant evolution in recent years. YouTube vloggers like 'YuMi' and 'Song A' have tried to humanize the country by posting cheerful, English-language videos that depict life in Pyongyang as modern and upbeat, often in stark contrast to reports from defectors and human rights organizations. 'They are exploiting the social media environment where it is increasingly difficult to ascertain what is real and what is not,' Irina Tsukerman, a national security lawyer, told The Dallas Express. Whether these influencers are state agents or merely sympathetic amplifiers, the outcome is the same: a disjointed, heavily curated vision of a regime that remains one of the most closed and repressive on Earth. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim rejects outreach by South's new president
SEOUL, South Korea — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed overtures by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday that North Korea has no interests in talks with South Korea no matter what proposal its rival offers. Kim Yo Jong's comments suggest again that North Korea, now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia, has no intentions of returning to diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. anytime soon. But experts said North Korea could change its course if it thinks it cannot maintain the same booming ties with Russia when the Russia-Ukraine war nears an end. 'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with' South Korea, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which took office in early June. In an effort to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border and repatriated North Koreans who were drifted south in wooden boats months earlier. Kim Yo Jong called such steps 'sincere efforts' by Lee's government to develop ties. But she said the Lee government won't be much different from its predecessors, citing what it calls 'their blind trust' to the military alliance with the U.S. and attempt to 'stand in confrontation' with North Korea. She mentioned the upcoming summertime South Korea-U.S. military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the U.S. since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals. North Korea now prioritizes cooperation with Russia by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine, likely in return for economic and military assistance. South Korea, the U.S. and others say Russia may even give North Korea sensitive technologies that can enhance its nuclear and missile programs. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. In early 2024, Kim Jong Un ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an 'invariable principal enemy.' That caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Many experts say Kim likely aims to guard against South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal room to use his nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it as a foreign enemy state, not a partner for potential unification which shares a sense of national the daily Crossword
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Kim Jong Un's powerful sister rejects appeasement overture by South's new president
SEOUL, South Korea — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed an appeasement overture by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday that North Korea has no interests in talks with South Korea no matter what proposal its rival offers. 5 Kim Yo Jong giving a speech. AP Kim Yo Jong's comments suggest again that North Korea, now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia, has no intentions of returning to diplomacy with South Korea and the US anytime soon. But experts said North Korea could change its course if it thinks it cannot maintain the same booming ties with Russia when the Russia-Ukraine war nears an end. 'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with' South Korea, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which took office in early June. In an effort to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border and repatriated North Koreans who were drifted south in wooden boats months earlier. 5 It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which took office in early June. Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP via 5 South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaking at a press conference. AP 5 North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019. REUTERS Kim Yo Jong called such steps 'sincere efforts' by Lee's government to develop ties. But she said the Lee government won't be much different from its predecessors, citing what it calls 'their blind trust' to the military alliance with the US and attempt to 'stand in confrontation' with North Korea. She mentioned the upcoming summertime South Korea-US military drills, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals. North Korea now prioritizes cooperation with Russia by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine, likely in return for economic and military assistance. South Korea, the US and others say Russia may even give North Korea sensitive technologies that can enhance its nuclear and missile programs. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture. 5 North Korea now prioritizes cooperation with Russia by sending troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine. REUTERS In early 2024, Kim Jong Un ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an 'invariable principal enemy.' That caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors' long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North's terms. Many experts say Kim likely aims to guard against South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal room to use his nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it as a foreign enemy state, not a partner for potential unification which shares a sense of national homogeneity.
