North Korea claims baby boom in triplets

SEOUL, June 17 (UPI) -- North Korea announced the country has witnessed an "unprecedented" number of triplet births and claimed the new mothers were rewarded for contributing to society.

Pyongyang's KCNA released the belated news of a triplet birth on May 5 at Pyongyang Maternity Hospital, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Wednesday. Cho Keum Il had given birth to triplets, all girls, the 453rd triplet birth on North Korean record.

North Korean state media said on May 1 a woman identified as Ri Eun Byol gave birth to triplet boys in the Puchon County of South Hamkyong province, and three days later, one Kim Keum Ok gave birth to another set of triplet boys in the Sunan district of Pyongyang.

North Korea's recent triplet boom began on April 27, when in the North Korean border town of Musan in North Hamkyong province, a resident gave birth to the state's 450th triplet of sons, with each baby weighing an average of 2.21 kilos, or 4.9 pounds.

Pyongyang has portrayed the purported triplet births as an auspicious series of events. A physician at Pyongyang Maternity Hospital identified as Ri Yun Suk said the successive birth of triplets in the last 10 days is an "unprecedented event."

KCNA said North Korean authorities presented an ornamental silver knife and a gold ring to each new mother – then took the opportunity to blast societies abroad.

"While in capitalist countries women are dismissed because of pregnancy, [in North Korea] women have given birth to 453 triplets," said KCNA, according to South Korean media outlet Newsis.

South Korean newspaper Maeil Business reported North Korea is portraying the births as positive, since the country has been hit hard by a lower than normal birth rate.

Three years ago, the birth of triplets to a Pyongyang household was a cause for celebration for the family's community and the state, who gathered funds to provide the family with a new house, interior renovations, a washing machine and hangers for clothes, according to Maeil Business.

The North Korean state recently claimed every aspect of the family's life was being looked after.