North Korean state-owned media on Friday said school children donated multiple rocket launchers to Kim Jong Un’s army, a symbol of their “warm patriotism and surging hatred toward the enemy.”
What Happened: The state media said a ceremony for presenting the “Sonyon” (child) multiple rocket launchers took place in the courtyard of the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace on Tuesday to mark the 77th birthday of the Korean Children’s Union (KCU).
Senior ruling party officials attended Tuesday’s ceremony – Kim Su Gil, chief secretary of the Pyongyang Municipal Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Ri Tu Song, department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, among others.
The report did not say how the funds were raised for the acquisition of the military equipment.
“It is the bounden duty of schoolchildren who have happily grown up under the care of the Party to actively seek good things for the country, he said, calling for redoubling their patriotic enthusiasm to become reliable pillars who will shoulder the future of the socialist country,” it added.
Why It Matters: The KCU, a group of individuals recognizable by their distinctive red scarves, was established to advance the Kim regime’s political ideology, particularly emphasizing the principle of “Juche” or self-reliance. Over the past few months, Pyongyang has intensified its propaganda campaigns and public messaging, manifesting in the organization of rallies where effigies representing South Korean and American leaders, whom North Korea often refers to as “enemies,” is set ablaze.
These developments coincide with mounting international concerns surrounding Kim’s isolated nation’s missile and nuclear programs.
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