Youth Day in North Korea

In North Korea, about 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. Many children find themselves homeless and facing adverse living conditions. Nearly a quarter of the population in the country lack access to enough food. Children are the most affected by this shortage of food, which has negative consequences on their health.

In its public pronouncements, Pyongyang has called for accelerated population growth and encouraged large families. According to one Korean American scholar who visited North Korea in the early 1980s, the country has no birth control policies; parents are encouraged to have as many as six children.