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North Korean leader’s wife makes first public appearance in two months after ‘house arrest’
- Ri Sol-ju seemed to have been kept in after appearing too carefree
- She and her husband Kim Jong-un were seen at the football and a music concert
The young wife of North Korea’s leader has made her first public appearance in two months, ending what could have been a period of “house arrest” for being careless.
Ri Sol-ju was photographed earlier this year smiling and casually strolling around as she accompanied her husband Kim Jong-un, the newly appointed leader of the secretive Stalinist state.
But then she disappeared from view, sparking speculation that she might be pregnant, but more likely because she didn’t present the stern image promoted by her husband’s late father, Kim Jong-il.
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The happy couple: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walks arm in arm with his wife Ri Sol-ju in July, before she is gone for two months
Analysts say that despite young Kim’s appointment as commander-in-chief of the nation, he is still under the control of the military hierarchy, which causes him to project a rigid, authoritative image to the rest of the world.
That means his wife must remain aloof and untouchable in the eyes of the masses, North Korean experts say.
But now Ri is back in the public eye, and fuzzy TV footage from North Korea shows her enjoying her husband’s company at a soccer game and musical concert this week.
According to the official KCNA news agency, the pair’s performance at the concert “elicited thunderous cheers from the audience.”
The couple’s presence also marked Kim Jong-un’s first public appearance in two weeks, sparking speculation that he may have received behavioral advice from the military hierarchy.
Too cheerful? Analysts believe Ri was kept at home because she appeared too “carefree.”
South Korean intelligence is convinced that Ri’s sudden disappearance from the state media since early September is because the country’s elders raised a problem over her casual and cheerful demeanor.
“The analysis was that there was concern about breach of discipline (by Ri) among North Korean elders, plus the speculation about pregnancy,” South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, citing the National Intelligence Agency’s closed-door briefing. given to parliament.
Photos taken at the concert showed Ri in a long cream coat and what appeared to be a thicker waist, adding to speculation that she is pregnant.
It was also suggested that she had been kept at home as a disciplinary measure for being seen in public without a red lapel pin bearing the image or images of the two previous leaders.
All high-ranking North Koreans and anyone who works for the government must wear them.
Dress to impress: High-ranking North Koreans must wear the red lapel pins as pictured above
A pin is not visible in the latest photos of Ri, but she could be wearing it under her coat.
If Ri is pregnant and she gives birth to a son, the Kim dynasty is assured.
If she has a girl, analysts say the hierarchy will insist she “try again.”
The South Koreans carefully studied the photos of Kim and his wife, spread over four pages, in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper in the north. Facial expressions and the people accompanying the couple are all vital to intelligence collectors.
Last July, North Korea finally put an end to speculation about the young woman who accompanied Kim at numerous events in and around the capital, Pyongyang.
She was, state media said, his wife — and those announcements were seen as a slight lifting of the veil on mysterious hidden happenings in the country.
But just when it seemed North Korea was lightening its tough, reclusive image, Ri’s temporary disappearance has left analysts wondering if anything has really changed.
Monuments: Kim Jong-un gives a speech at a ceremony to unveil statues of his grandfather Kim Il-sung and his father Kim Jong-il (below)
Video: North Korean TV video of leader Kim Jong-un’s wife performing
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