NK first lady reemerges in public

Ri Sol-ju, left in front row, applauds as her husband North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to her left, reacts during a musical performance to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il-sung Military University, in Pyongyang, Monday. (Photo : Yonhap)

North Korea’s “first lady” Ri Sol-ju resurfaced in state media after a 50-day hiatus, Tuesday, amid speculation over her possible pregnancy.

Ri and her husband North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday attended a concert commemorating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Kim Il-sung Military University, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Kim “appeared in the auditorium with his wife comrade Ri Sol-ju. A windstorm of hoorays instantly burst out,” KCNA said.

The couple also attended a soccer game at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang the same day, it said in a separate report.

Some observers said Ri appeared pregnant in a photograph released by the North in which she is seen wearing a long coat and applauding during the event. Other theories over her disappearance included the regime punishing her for failing to wear a badge designed to pay homage to the country’s past leaders.

“From the looks of it and considering the changes to her figure, (pregnancy) is a likely possibility,” a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity.

Ri, 23, made a splash in July when the North revealed that she is Kim’s wife and has since been publicly seen beside the new leader.

Until Monday’s announcement, she had been conspicuously out of the leader’s public appearances since Sept. 8.

The Daily NK, a website that monitors developments across the border, quoted sources in the North as saying the rumor “started to spread really fast” after she dropped out of the spotlight. It is widely rumored that the couple had a child in 2009.

“Sharp-eyed women had been mentioning a possible pregnancy every time she appeared” on television, the source said.

The reports came a day after the KCNA reported a visit to the military university by Kim, marking his first appearance in the media since Oct. 14.

The fresh appearances brought his total number of public outings this month to nine, falling below his average of around 14 appearances a month between January and September.  Another official said recently that the drop in appearances reflected the North’s difficulties as it battles a crippled economy despite having promised the populace better times ahead.

Others said the trend could signal that the leader is busy devising policies in apparent response to the upcoming leadership changes in South Korea and China and the presidential election in the United States.

The regime’s low-key approach to the couple contrasts with earlier in the year, when it rolled out a public relations campaign by unveiling Ri and showing the couple taking in a concert featuring U.S. icons such as Mickey Mouse and Rocky Balboa.

Analysts said the moves were an attempt to portray the new leader as being a family man as well as having a firm grip on power. <The Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>