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No sign of life for months, no photos for months: Ri Sol Ju, the 32-year-old wife of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, has gone into hiding. Almost exactly one year ago, on January 25, 2020, she was last seen at a public event at the Samjiyon Theater alongside her husband.
What happened to the first lady?
Experts speculate that Kim Jong Un currently has the image of being a “normal head of state” regardless of the crises in the country. Lim Eul Chul, professor at Kyungnam University. tells “NK News”: “Now, for Pyongyang, economic problems and real success, not formalities, are the most important and urgent.”
Fear of the coronavirus?
Or is she sick? It’s already happened in the past that they didn’t see her for months, only to suddenly appear next to her husband without explanation. Back then, however, the media was speculating more in the direction of the pregnancy.
An obvious explanation would be the crisis of the crown. “As a mother with young children, participating in public activities runs the risk of possible infection,” said Hong Min, director of the North Korean research division at the Korea National Unification Institute. It also points to the fact that even Kim Jong Un had few public appearances last year.
Since 2018 she is the “First Lady”
In 2018 Ri Sol Ju received the title of “First Lady”. It was the first time in more than 40 years that the title was officially used by state media. According to the AFP news agency, the adjective “revered” has so far only been reserved for the North Korean head of state.
Legendary news anchor Ri Chun Hee was called in to announce the title on state television; They only call her to the TV studio at special events since her retirement. (neo)
