North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged young people to “shoulder the future” of the country at a mass children’s gathering on Saturday, underscoring his focus on cultivating the next generation of supporters for his authoritarian rule.

Kim delivered the speech during an event at Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang to celebrate the 80th founding anniversary of the Korean Children’s Union (KCU), state media reported. 

The leader said KCU members “should steadily shoulder the future of this country,” while calling on them to be “filial” to their parents, “study hard and be exemplary in the organizational life in good