North Korea Releases Song Praising Leader Kim as ‘Friendly Father’ 

This picture taken on April 16, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on April 17, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) taking part in a ceremony to mark the completion of the second phase of a 10,000-unit housing development in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on April 16, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on April 17, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) taking part in a ceremony to mark the completion of the second phase of a 10,000-unit housing development in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
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North Korea Releases Song Praising Leader Kim as ‘Friendly Father’ 

This picture taken on April 16, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on April 17, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) taking part in a ceremony to mark the completion of the second phase of a 10,000-unit housing development in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on April 16, 2024 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on April 17, 2024 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) taking part in a ceremony to mark the completion of the second phase of a 10,000-unit housing development in Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

North Korea has released a new song praising leader Kim Jong Un for being a "friendly father" and a "great leader", in a move that appears to be part of a propaganda drive to enhance his standing in the reclusive state.

The music video for the song was aired on the state-controlled Korean Central Television on Wednesday.

It features North Koreans of different backgrounds ranging from children to troops and medical staff exuberantly belting out lines such as: "Let's sing, Kim Jong Un the great leader" and "Let's brag about Kim Jong Un, a friendly father".

A live performance of the song accompanied by an orchestra and watched by Kim was also broadcast on state television as part of a ceremony to mark the completion of building 10,000 new homes.

The Kim family dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War Two have sought to strengthen their grip on power by building cults of personality around them.

The release of the upbeat song titled "Friendly Father" comes at a time when North Korean state media has recently changed the name it uses for a public holiday, prompting speculation that the move is part of efforts to solidify Kim's position.

Instead of calling the annual public holiday celebrating the birth of the country's founder Kim Il Sung "Day of the Sun", state media has started mostly referring to it as the more neutral "April holiday".

Such changes might be part of an effort by Kim to stand on his own feet without relying on his predecessors, an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry said.



Heavy Rains Flood Congo’s Capital


People walk through the flooded streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)
People walk through the flooded streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)
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Heavy Rains Flood Congo’s Capital


People walk through the flooded streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)
People walk through the flooded streets of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Major flooding hit several neighborhoods in Congo's capital Kinshasa, killing at least 19 people and causing severe damage, authorities said Saturday.

Heavy rains Friday through Saturday triggered floods and landslides in Kinshasa's western neighborhood of Ngaliema, killing at least 17 people, the local mayor, Fulgence Bolokome, told the radio station Top Congo. Two avenues in the city were also cut off, he added.

Two other people died when the deluge toppled a wall in the southern neighborhood of Lemba, Mayor Jean-Serge Poba said. A police camp and a bridge were damaged, The AP news reported.

“It was around 3 a.m. when we heard a loud noise. When we went outside, the neighbors’ wall had collapsed. The man and his wife both died, leaving behind five children who made it out unharmed,” resident Clovis Kalenga told The Associated Press.

In April, floods in Kinshasa killed at least 22 people and cut off access to over half the city and the country’s main airport.