North Korea debuts propaganda song praising ‘friendly father’ Kim Jong-un

North Korea has released a propaganda song praising leader Kim Jong-un as the "friendly father" of the Hermit kingdom.

The music video, in which North Koreans and military men can be seen gleefully singing, aired on Wednesday on the state-controlled Korean Central Television.

The song was performed live accompanied by an orchestra at a ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new development project of 10,000 homes in capital Pyongyang.

The music video 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".

Mr Kim waved at the crowd on Tuesday as he arrived at the event in an armoured limousine gifted by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

He then cut a giant ribbon on top of one of the new buildings as fireworks went off. Shortly after, planes performed a flypast and singers serenaded Mr Kim with the "Friendly Father" song.

Korea is undergoing a project to build 50,000 new homes in the capital by 2025, state media Korean Central News Agency reported.

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

The release of the upbeat song comes at 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 Mr Kim's position.

Meanwhile, the US envoy to the UN said America and its allies were discussing options "both inside and outside the UN" system" to create a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea over its nuclear weapons program.

"I look forward to engaging with both the Republic of Korea and Japan, but like-minded (countries) as well, on trying to develop options both inside the UN as well as outside the UN," ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a news conference in Seoul, using the formal name for South Korea.

"The point here is that we cannot allow the work that the panel of experts were doing to lapse."

Moscow and Beijing have thwarted US-led efforts to tighten UN sanctions on North Korea over its ramped-up ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a divide between permanent Security Council members that deepened over Russia's war on Ukraine.