October 1 is International Day of Older Persons.

In 1990, the 45th United Nations General Assembly session designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons in recognition of the effects on socio-economic development brought about by the population ageing which had become obvious worldwide, and decided to drum up international interest in the protection of older persons with the day as an occasion.

The UN selects themes for the International Day of Older Persons every year to meet the demands of older persons and actual conditions and accordingly a variety of activities are conducted in many countries and regions to raise public awareness of the importance of the protection of older persons and effectively cope with the population ageing.

The theme for UNIDOP 2022 is “The Resilience and Contributions of Older Women”. UNIDOP 2022 is a call to action and opportunity aimed at embracing the voices of older women and showcasing their resilience and contributions in society, while promoting policy dialogues to enhance the protection of older persons’ human rights and recognize their contributions to sustainable development.

In the DPRK the state takes responsible care of the health and life of older persons.

The Socialist Constitution of the DPRK and the DPRK law on public health, which had already been enacted decades ago, specify that a universal free medical care system shall be enforced for all citizens and in particular older patients shall be taken care of responsibly to ensure that the free medical care would actually benefit them.

The DPRK law on the protection of older persons was adopted on April 26 2007, providing a solid legal guarantee for providing older persons with better living conditions.

The law says that the state shall provide older persons with all conditions so that they can take the position and play their role as revolutionary seniors and seniors of society and families.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, regards it as a noble moral obligation of revolutionaries to hold revolutionary seniors in high esteem and always pays close attention to the life of older persons.

Putting forward war veterans who defended every inch of the country with their blood as the heroic generation and model of the indomitable and great Korean people, he repeatedly bestowed favours on them so that they could proudly lead their remainder of life in good health. This year he invited them to V-Day celebrations and took measures for them to have a pleasant time at the Yangdok Hot Spring Resort equipped with full conditions and environment for rest.

In our country, where it is a social trait to respect and look after the revolutionary seniors, the protection of older persons is undertaken under the state and social concern according to the WPK’s policy on the care of older persons. And it has become a reality of our society that war veterans’ rest homes and old people’s homes have sprung up across the country and older persons enjoy public respect and are taken good care of.

Therefore, many older persons work hard to live up to the call of revolutionary seniors and contribute to the good system and country in good health even in the twilight years of their life.