North Korea prominently featured an article on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, emphasizing the state’s full responsibility for orphans and the elderly. This move serves to highlight Kim Jong Un’s people-loving leadership while reinforcing internal unity ahead of upcoming political events. The article aims to convey a message of economic relief domestically and underscore the superiority of the socialist system internationally.
The Workers’ Party of Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published a front-page article titled, A Palace for Orphans, a Home for the Elderly Unparalleled in the World. It showcased childcare and elderly care facilities, including orphanages, childcare centers, primary and secondary schools, and nursing homes, as significant achievements of the Kim’s era.
The newspaper declared that a new era has dawned where the people are cherished by the Mother Party and enjoy abundant blessings. It highlighted welfare policies for orphans and the elderly as the true essence of socialism. The article emphasized that children without parents and the elderly without caregivers need social protection the most, asserting that the Workers’ Party of Korea’s policy is to fully care for them, ensuring they can live without worries.
According to this policy, Pyongyang’s orphanages and nursing homes have been established in prime locations along the banks of the Taedong River. The newspaper described these facilities as unparalleled treasures in the world. It further claimed that General Secretary Kim visited the construction sites multiple times, personally overseeing the children’s furnishings, meal plans, and living conditions.
The article highlighted specific instances of Kim’s attentiveness, including his expressed sorrow over the children’s worn-out dishes, his directive to equip all facilities nationwide with uniform furnishings, and his personal calculations of fish supply quantities in his notebook.
Regarding nursing homes, the article stated that Kim designated their locations adjacent to the orphanages and instructed that they be tailored to the physical, age, and psychological characteristics of the elderly. The newspaper described these facilities as palaces of love and homes of blessed life, noting that laughter from children and bright faces of the elderly overflow from facilities across the country.
In contrast, the article criticized capitalist societies, stating that issues concerning orphans and the elderly are becoming increasingly severe. By referencing cases from Europe and Japan, it pointed out child abuse in orphanages, poverty among the elderly, and crimes committed by seniors to further emphasize the purported superiority of the North Korean socialist system.