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Kim Jong Un's Wife Appears For the First Time in More Than a Year
Posted
February 18, 2021
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1:58Now PlayingRi Sol Ju, the wife of Kim Jong Un, has reappeared in North Korea's state media for the first time in just over year.
Early Wednesday, the North's Korean Central Central News Agency (KCNA) released a series of nine photos showing Ri sitting next to Kim at a performance on Tuesday to mark the birth anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il.
The last time Ri Sol Ju was shown by North Korean state media was on 26 January 2020, attending another performance with Kim the previous day, marking the Lunar New Year.
It's common for North Korean state media to release photos of videos the day after an event.
Ri Sol Ju attracted international attention when she first appeared in 2012, because North Korea's previous leader Kim Jong Il had normally not appeared with his wife or partner in state media available to a foreign audience.
Ri's initial appearance was also a surprise not only to foreigners but also Koreans because state media at first did not mention exactly what her relationship with Kim was.
Over the years, Ri became a regular fixture in North Korean news images, including travelling with Kim to visit China and its leader.
There has been no explanation for her absence from the spotlight over the past year.
Also Wednesday, KCNA released one image of Kim Jong Un visiting the mausoleum where North Korea's former leaders lie in state.
North Korea normally shows Kim's visits to the mausoleum early on the same day.
This time was a bit later than usual.
Last year, after there was no report about a Kim mausoleum visit on a usual date in April, foreign media speculated intensely for weeks about Kim's health, before he appeared again at a factory opening at the beginning of May.
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