Woman at Kim's side is his wife
Source: Agencies |
July 26, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
North Korea's young leader Kim Jong Un is married, state media said yesterday, putting an end to speculation about the woman seen at his side during a recent gala.
The announcement came just two weeks after he was seen at the performance accompanied by the woman, with rumors swirling as to whether she was his wife, lover or sister.
Some observers in South Korea speculated she was a singer he dated years ago before his father Kim Jong Il put a stop to the relationship.
It is not clear when the two tied the knot. Recent TV footage showed the two laughing with each other and clapping while watching a performance featuring Western show tunes and Mickey Mouse.
The state broadcaster named his wife as Ri Sol Ju.
"While a welcoming song was playing, our party and people's supreme leader, Marshal Kim Jong Un, came out from a ceremony of the completion (of a 'pleasure ground') with wife Ri Sol Ju," it said.
Kim, in his late-20s, took over the family dynasty last December on the death of his father.
Since then he has taken a more glitzy approach to ruling a country which is locked in a stand-off with the West over its nuclear weapons program.
Once the official mourning period was over, the youngest Kim to rule North Korea was seen laughing with old generals, gesticulating in delight at a military parade and, biggest shock of all, speaking. Most North Koreans went to their graves never having seen Kim the elder speak.
Kim the younger has steadily worked to put his own stamp on the top leadership of North Korea, and recently ousted Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, the country's leading military figure, who was seen as close to Kim's father. Kim was later named marshal of the army in a move that adds to his array of titles and cements his power. He already heads the Workers' Party of Korea and is First Chairman of the National Defence Commission.
The unusual gala performance, where Kim was seen with his wife, featured Walt Disney's "It's A Small World," a thumping rock version of the theme tune to "Rocky" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way."
Bizarrely for a state which frequently and vociferously voices its loathing for all things American, it featured a cast of Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
The family does have a previous Disney connection: the ruler's elder brother Kim Jong Nam said he was on his way to Tokyo Disneyland when he was caught illegally entering Japan in 2001.
The announcement came just two weeks after he was seen at the performance accompanied by the woman, with rumors swirling as to whether she was his wife, lover or sister.
Some observers in South Korea speculated she was a singer he dated years ago before his father Kim Jong Il put a stop to the relationship.
It is not clear when the two tied the knot. Recent TV footage showed the two laughing with each other and clapping while watching a performance featuring Western show tunes and Mickey Mouse.
The state broadcaster named his wife as Ri Sol Ju.
"While a welcoming song was playing, our party and people's supreme leader, Marshal Kim Jong Un, came out from a ceremony of the completion (of a 'pleasure ground') with wife Ri Sol Ju," it said.
Kim, in his late-20s, took over the family dynasty last December on the death of his father.
Since then he has taken a more glitzy approach to ruling a country which is locked in a stand-off with the West over its nuclear weapons program.
Once the official mourning period was over, the youngest Kim to rule North Korea was seen laughing with old generals, gesticulating in delight at a military parade and, biggest shock of all, speaking. Most North Koreans went to their graves never having seen Kim the elder speak.
Kim the younger has steadily worked to put his own stamp on the top leadership of North Korea, and recently ousted Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, the country's leading military figure, who was seen as close to Kim's father. Kim was later named marshal of the army in a move that adds to his array of titles and cements his power. He already heads the Workers' Party of Korea and is First Chairman of the National Defence Commission.
The unusual gala performance, where Kim was seen with his wife, featured Walt Disney's "It's A Small World," a thumping rock version of the theme tune to "Rocky" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way."
Bizarrely for a state which frequently and vociferously voices its loathing for all things American, it featured a cast of Disney characters, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
The family does have a previous Disney connection: the ruler's elder brother Kim Jong Nam said he was on his way to Tokyo Disneyland when he was caught illegally entering Japan in 2001.
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