North Korea has released its first feature-length film in five years as part of propaganda efforts to bolster pro-government sentiment.

The film, A Day and a Night, tells the story of an army nurse who strives to “expose plots by anti-party, counter-revolutionary factionalists, despite threats to her life”, state media said.

“The film explains in detail the idea that it is a sacred duty and obligation of citizens to defend their leader, at the risk of their lives, and safeguard their system,” the Korean Central News Agency said.

It said the film would take North Korean film production to “a new level”, and was made in accordance with “cultural directives” from Kim Jong-un, the dictator, and the Workers’ Party.

Pyongyang ramps up propaganda effort

Last month, Kim instructed propaganda chiefs to strengthen the public’s ideological commitment to the party and his own family. Film production should be resumed to meet “the requirements of the new era of change and prosperity,” he said.

State television played a short trailer for the film during the evening news, in which images of the laughing young female protagonist were interspersed with battle scenes.

The film was produced by the Korean April 25 Film Studio, which was founded in 1959 with the aim of making military-themed films that act as propaganda for the Korean People’s Army.

Kim Jong-il, the dictator’s late father, was famously a fan of cinema, and reportedly owned more than 20,000 videos and DVDs.

In a book dedicated to the subject, he wrote: “The cinema occupies an important place in the overall development of art and literature. As such, it is a powerful ideological weapon for the revolution and construction.”