North Korea’s South Pyongan province is spearheading efforts to boost the country’s declining birth rate by prioritizing state benefits for families with multiple children.
The initiative comes as North Korea grapples with demographic challenges similar to South Korea’s, including delayed marriages and a growing number of singles, according to a source in South Pyongan province recently.
The province’s party committee gave orders in late October to assess the financial situation of multi-child families in the province and to make such families are first in line to receive benefits through various programs.
The provincial party committee began by evaluating the living conditions of families with multiple children within the province. It has directed officials to allocate houses to families without one and to move families from overcrowded homes to more spacious ones. In the process of assigning these houses, officials are expected to laminate and wallpaper the interiors and supply any missing furnishings for the families.
In addition, the provincial party committee has reportedly ordered officials to take interest in families’ food supplies and to cooperate with state-run food stores in each area to arrange the families’ winter provisions before the arrival of winter.
In connection with this, provincial officials arranged for the families to receive cabbages and radish for kimchi making and personally delivered the food to those families.
The provincial party committee is also looking into the option of providing multi-child families with regular food and fuel.
As part of these efforts, the committee has instructed various organizations to submit lists of programs for multi-child families and summarize their achievements in those areas, the source added.
“The committee learned on Oct. 20 that nothing had been done for a multi-child family in Mundok county even though the children were often absent from school because of financial difficulties. Perhaps because of that incident, the committee has also instructed schools to pay more attention to students from multi-child families,” the source said.
Furthermore, the committee has called on each city and county to take particular interest in caring for women who are pregnant or have just given birth.
“The provincial party committee is promoting the idea that having many children is a form of patriotism. It has also announced it will be reviewing the types and amount of support that various organizations provide to pregnant women and new mothers for Mother’s Day, on Nov. 16,” the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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November 08, 2024 at 07:00AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)